The Really Odd Couple
Think of all those sci-fi/action movies you have ever watched, those which take us to apocalyptic future where rogue machines are wiping out humans, computers are planning to take over the world and an evil genius plans to control the world with his own army of androids and then combine them with an unlikely buddy story. The end result is the made for TV movie "Android Apocalypse" which stars Scott Bairstow as the human and Joseph Lawrence as the android who end up unlikely buddies on the run from other androids and mutant machines. And that end result whilst not terrible thanks mainly to some nice visual touches ends up derivative, a movie you watch which constantly reminds you of other movies.
Some time in the future the human population has been forced to live in domed cities with Phoenix being one of the last where a mad scientist has plans to use his superior androids to take control and turn humans into machines. One of the humans, Jute (Scott Bairstow), has a real dislike for Androids and after fighting one of these machines is sentenced to jail but on the way the prison truck carrying him and android guard DeeCee (Joseph Lawrence - Hitched for the Holidays) comes under attack from a mutant machine. Now Jute and DeeCee is an odd couple on the run on the outside as Jute discovers that DeeCee has a human side.
Everything about "Android Apocalypse" is derivative, from the prologue which briefly informs us of what has happened to various ideas such as the evil genius planning his own android army. So as I said whilst you watch "Android Apocalypse" you are constantly thinking of what movie the idea came from or where you have seen something similar before. In fairness it takes all these cliches and combines them into an almost coherent storyline which comes up short on detail and depth but is easy to follow.
But in truth "Android Apocalypse" is really an excuse for action as we watch Jute fight the androids or when stuck with DeeCee trying to get away from the mutant machines on the outside. The action whilst not spectacular is as solid as the storyline with various fight scenes enhanced by special effects although a couple of fight scenes between Jute and an Android played by Chris Jericho end up surprisingly dull, lacking the excitement that you expect from a scene involving a WWE wrestler.
And in many ways that is the problem with "Android Apocalypse" as it is not as exciting as it should be filled spoiled not just by the cliches but also the dull characters. Scott Bairstow as Jute spends the entire movie just being angry whilst Joseph Lawrence spends the whole movie intentionally stiff and emotionless. There is absolutely no chemistry between them and no humour either which is another of the movies issues as it needed to make fun of itself once in a while.
What this all boils down to is that "Android Apocalypse" is not as terrible as you might expect from the name but it is highly derivative and lacks the excitement that this sort of movie needs to keep you entertained.
