udar55 Teri Marshall (Heather Thomas) finds herself in a world of nefarious Government and bad guy types after her inventor boyfriend Rick Davenport (Jeffrey Combs) is murdered. Seems everyone is after his invention Cyclone, a $5 million dollar motorbike with stealth technology. Of course, Rick expected this and delivers a post-death message to Teri to get the motorbike to the only G-man (Troy Donahue) he can trust. The big chase is on with CIA agents Waters (Martine Beswick) and Knowles (Robert Quarry) and baddies Rolf (Dar Robinson) and Hanna (Dawn Wildsmith) in pursuit. And Martin Landau figures in here somewhere as the main bad guy. More Fred Olen Ray madness here and this film is a marked improvement over his earlier stuff. By that I mean it looks like an actual film with decent cinematography. It is still pretty low budget though with cheap sets and a almost-but-not-quite futuristic bike design. The leads are decent and I noticed Combs - like Peter Cushing before him - has an insane talent for making techno-babble sound 100% believable. You also get a gaggle of ex-stars who mostly likely were around for a few days in supporting roles. Donahue has one scene while Landau gets three. All of the big action is saved for the finale and there are two really cool car stunts there. Of course, the film's biggest leap of faith isn't the stealth bike. My friend Marty summed it up best when he said: "As implausible as this thriller is, the biggest stretch is that sexy blonde Thomas, first seen hitting the Nautilus machine in a bust-bursting Spandex outfit, would be dating dorky scientist Combs."

Scarecrow-88 There are more villains than you can shake a stick at in Fred Olen Ray's fast-moving action flick, CYCLONE about a souped up futuristic motorcycle with extra firepower and uses energy from hydrogen instead of fossil fuels. Everyone from crooked fed Robert Quarry to ruthless businessman Martin Landau want to get their hands on the motorcycle, in possession of murdered scientist Jeffery Combs' girlfriend Heather Thomas. I found it amusing the odd coupling of supermodel Thomas and nerd Combs, how she's more masculine and tough while he's the cerebral, non-violent type..this as normal a character as you are liable to ever see Combs play, and while I enjoy him in strange, irreverent roles, it was, I must admit, nice to see him as the tragic victim instead of the diabolical fiend. Thomas, to be honest, wasn't exactly hired for her acting chops, but boy does she look mighty nice in a tight pair of jeans. The real star is obviously the titular star vehicle everyone covets, with Thomas caught in unfortunate circumstances..I mean she isn't even truly able to grieve for her loss because her life is immediately threatened, not to mention there's no one she can trust(even someone she thought was her friend betrays her). As an arms dealer, Landau has foreign clientèle, and a certain, special transformer, worth a valuable amount, is of top priority to a high-paying buyer with demands to have it at a specific time..the transformer itself is of more value than the motorcycle, although the device was created for the vehicle. Martine Beswicke is a good fed who lends Thomas some much needed support.Included is something I always enjoy in an action movie from time to time, Thomas kicking the asses of some punk douchebags giving her a hard time. We even get to see Thomas engaged in fisticuffs with Ashley Ferrare, not your typical catfight(not hairpulling and rolling on the ground between these two). Solid car chases/crashes and explosions..some impressive stunt work. Most of the weaponry on the motorcycle is animated: visible electric bolts which destroy whatever is targeted. The helmet is even rigged with bolts that blast targets selected(a phone book is pulverized and a victim is set on fire)! Combs' part may be too minor for his fans..this is a star vehicle designed for Thomas. Landau has pretty much a glorified supporting role(probably ten minutes, but he makes the most of his time on screen as does the always reliable Quarry). Dar Robinson and Dawn Highsmith have colorful heavy roles as Landau's hired assassins; they really enjoy their work. I must admit that there's a nostalgic value attached to this movie as I used to watch it on HBO as a kid so maybe CYCLONE works for me in that regard. I don't think it is as bad as many others do, and consider it a rather accomplished Fred Olen Ray vehicle. Maybe the special effects are a bit dated, but it was 1987 after all. Seeing Beswicke firing a machine gun while trying to evade Landau's stooges in a station wagon is worth the price of a rental alone.

gridoon When a movie shows two beautiful, sweaty women working out in a gym (with the camera emphasizing their arms and cleavage) BEFORE the opening credits are even over, it's on the right track. When it shows one of those women (the super-sexy Heather Thomas) kicking a$$ within the first 10 minutes, it deserves applause. Sure, the plot is so thin that it feels stretched-out even at just 82 minutes, and the "comic relief" of two inept cops is not very funny, but on the whole "Cyclone" is an enjoyable B action movie, with some spectacular car and motorcycle stunts (considering the budget). Also notable is the strong female presence, with no fewer than 4 women (2 good and 2 bad) getting into the action, and if you're thinking "there must be a Climactic Catfight"....you are right! Cult actors Jeffrey Combs and Martin Landau have fairly brief roles, Landau does get the last line in the film though (and it's a funny one). (**1/2)

roglas I'm a huge fan of Dawn Wildsmith and Jeffrey Combs, although I originally rented this movie because Michelle Bauer suppossedly appears here but I didn't see her...Some of the action sequences were good, there's lots of action, three sexy and tough chicks (Ashley Ferrare, Heather Thomas, Danw Wildsmith)... Fred had done it again, I give it three stars out of four.