Lawnmower Man/Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace [DVD]

Product Description

A double bill of 1990s sci-fi movies. In 'The Lawnmower Man' (1992), when simple-minded gardener Jobe Smith (Jeff Fahey) becomes the subject of Dr Angelo (Pierce Brosnan)'s experiments with brain power, he rapidly develops into a genius. However, with his newfound intelligence Jeff begins to get ideas of his own about how the research should continue and soon transforms into an unmanageable megalomaniac who has visions of God... Famous for its innovative computer-generated special effects sequences, the film was one of the first virtual reality thrillers and a direct influence upon such films as 'Virtuosity' and 'eXistenZ'. In the sequel 'The Lawnmower Man 2 - Beyond Cyberspace' (1995) the hapless Jobe (Patrick Bergin, inheriting the role from Jeff Fahey) returns from the first film and convinces his doctor to hook him back up to the computer system that gave him a virtual alter ego. The doctor wants Jobe to create a mammoth computer city/system in cyberspace thus bringing him many riches. However, Jobe has plans of his own and wants the use of a special chip to decipher an encryption code which will allow him to control the world from inside cyberspace.

From Amazon.co.uk

In 1992, The Lawnmower Man was hailed as a CGI (Computer Generated Image) breakthrough. It's fascinating to consider the effects in a historical context, knowing it came just a year after T2: Judgment Day and was followed by Jurassic Park a year later. Written and directed by Bill Leonard, this was intended to showcase how realistic digital likenesses and landscapes had become. Little did they know that Toy Story was already in pre-production! The story hangs on the concept that a scientist gain (Pierce Brosnan) is drafted in to utilise the technology for governmental. As with all top-secret government projects in the movies, it all goes horribly wrong. Forced to progress from a chimp to a human subject, Brosnan secretly recruits local backwards boy and lawnmower pusher Jobe (Jeff Fahey). The increases in intelligence are alarming. He learns Latin in two hours, becomes an object of sexual desire (all it takes is cowboy boots apparently), and then develops telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Some very overt religious analogy is in evidence. Jobe's beatings by a priest give way to an eventual crucifixion on the spinning wheel that allows him to enter Virtual Reality. Will he be resurrected for a sequel? Such questions were what Stephen King took extreme exception to when his name was placed before the title. A lawsuit took care of that. What the film ought to be remembered and appreciated for though are the visuals, which undoubtedly advanced the arcade and home computer game industry. --Paul Tonks