‘Eve of Destruction’ Blu-Ray Review: A 90’s Genre Movie

I recently received a blu-ray copy of the 1991 sci-fi action film Eve of Destruction having never seen the actual movie though I have a vivid memory of the movie trailer. Seems like every cheesy action movie I rented in the 90’s had a trailer for this movie on it. And if you’ve seen that trailer you pretty much get a breakdown of the entire movie but here it is if you haven’t seen it. Eve VIII is a realistic looking cyborg designed for reconnaissance and information gathering but on a test run she happens to get shot in an attempted bank robbery which sets her into a battlefield mode. She begins an unknown mission and will kill anybody that tries to stop her. Colonel Jim McQuade enters as the counterterrorism expert assigned to stop her. Along with Eve VIII’s creator, Dr. Eve Simmons(on whom Eve VIII is physically and mentally modeled), McQuade must figure out her mission and stop her before more people die.

Eve of Destruction is one of those genre movies that were huge in the early 90’s. Cyborgs were big business in those days; Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Universal Soldier, and Nemesis to name a few. This particular film seems to come at you with an intentional tongue-in-cheek attitude. Gregory Hines as McQuade plays the role entirely serious in an almost over the top way. His performance is great but you always have the feeling he is wondering how he got this role (as he physically doesn’t seem the commando type). Dutch actress Renee Soutendijk does a solid job taking on dual roles as both Eve VIII and her creator Eve Simmons. There are two distinct personas and they are easy to distinguish. One of the things this film does extremely well is focus on the “human” side of the cyborg and how her “emotional” side makes her behave.

However, it’s the throwaway lines like “She’s gone nuclear” deliver with total seriousness that really makes a movie of this genre. The one-liners seem to outweigh any of the sincere or dramatic dialog. The filmmakers knew they were making an over-the-top action film and embraced it. If you are looking for a serious look at artificial intelligence like “A.I.” or “2001 A Space Odyssey” this probably isn’t the movie for you. But if you’re just looking for a run ride with little room to breathe between action scenes, or perhaps just a fan of cheesy early 90’s movies in the vein of the Carolco Productions of that era, then this is a movie for you to see. It’s a fun little ride. Imagine the Terminator as portrayed by a blonde in her 30’s (and a smaller budget).

Eve of Destruction is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen (1.78:1) with a 2 channel DTS-HD Master Audio track. The picture quality here is pretty good and the 2 channel audio sounds great. It still has that feel of an early 90’s movie but if you watch the theatrical trailer (which has not been treated) on the disc you can see exactly how much the picture has been enhanced. The sound has been balanced out very well. For a movie with a lot of loud action scenes the balance between sound, music, and dialog is well done.

Unlike most Scream Factory releases, Eve of Destruction doesn’t have any special features aside from the theatrical trailer. This isn’t too surprising considering Gregory Hines and Director Duncan Gibbons have passed and Renee Soutendijk tends to work in European films these days.

Special Features:

• Theatrical Trailer

Eve of Destruction is available from Scream Factory on November 19th

Fun Tidbit: Jeff McCarthy, who plays a young Bill Simmons in flashbacks, is also known for his work as the voice of Michigan J. Frog for the WB television network.