Subject: Retrospective: TekWar: TekLords (1994) (TV)

From: Dragan Antulov <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 21:10:39 -0000

TEKWAR: TEKLORDS
A Film Review
Copyright Dragan Antulov 2001

Rapid progress of information technology in last few
decades, like any other phenomenon, had its negative side
effects. One of the most obvious among them is creation and
spreading of computer viruses. Their destructive potential
has increased as rapidly as our global society became
dependant on said information technology and many believe
that viruses are going to be cause of major disasters in the
decades to come. However, few of those viruses are going to
be as mean and destructive as the one unleashed in the
opening scenes of TEKWAR: TEKLORDS, 1994 TV movie, second in
the series based on the TEKWAR science fiction novels by
William Shatner. Their protagonist, former policeman Jake
Cardigan (played by Greg Evigan), had fought dealers of Tek
- electronic substitute for old chemical narcotics. Now he
is faced with another menace - intelligent virus which
doesn't affect only software but also human beings who have
misfortune to get in touch with it. As the virus begins to
work its way through global computer networks, Cardigan must
also deal with some more personal issues concerning his son
and former wife, as well as with former Tek lord Sonny
Hokori (played by Van Flores) who might have something to do
with the new phenomena.

TEKWAR: TEKLORDS represents huge disappointment for every
viewer who had expected the same quality as its predecessor
TEKWAR, rather decent little TV movie directed by Shatner
himself. The second film was directed by seasoned Canadian
TV director George Bloomfield who managed to keep most of
TEKWAR's cyberpunk atmosphere thanks to CGI effects yet
failed to remedy huge defficiencies of Morgan Grendel's
script. Story of TEKWAR: TEKLORDS is burdened with
predictable situations, cheap melodrama and especially
disappointing deus ex machina ending. Even the acting is bad
compared with the first film, and TEKWAR: TEKLORDS might
give arguments to all those who had dismissed the whole
series based on the already unenviable reputation of
Shatner's books.

RATING: 2/10 (-)

Written on July 1st 2001

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X-RAMR-ID: 28703
X-RT-AuthorID: 1307
X-RT-TitleID: 1055279
X-RT-RatingText: 2/10