Space Truckers
Encyclopedia
Space Truckers is a 1996 American comedy science-fiction film written and directed by Stuart Gordon
. It was filmed at Ardmore Studios
, County Wicklow
, Ireland
.
The story concerns John Canyon, one of the last independent space transport entrepreneur
s. Bad times have forced him to carry suspicious cargo to Earth without asking questions. During the flight the cargo turns out to be a multitude of virtually unstoppable killer robot
s.
's moon
s, Triton
, company soldiers set up their defense perimeter, preparing for an attack from an unstoppable cyborg
warrior. The officer and building commander seals the room. During a routine transmission the outside tank patrol is attacked and destroyed. Almost immediately after the chopper patrol is attacked and crashes into the base, allowing the cyborg into the sealed room. The soldiers are no match for the cyborg and are killed one by one. At the last second Nabel deactivates the warrior with a remote control. They find out the cyborg warrior was created by their boss, E. J. Saggs and Nabel. After Saggs finds out about the remote, he has Nabel killed by one of the cyborgs.
Keller, the trucker boss, is killed during a brawl on the space station. Truckers John, Cindy and Mike take a job delivering "Sex dolls" to Earth. They are aware that the cargo are not really sex dolls, but this is the only way they can get off of the station. John decides to go through the pirate controlled scum-zone; the truck is damaged and they are captured by the pirates. Cindy agrees to have sex with the pirate captain if he will take only their cargo and let them go. The Captain reveals himself to be Nabel, who surived Sagg's attempt on his life, but only as a badly built cyborg. One of the cyborgs breaks out of the containers and kills the pirates, giving Cindy a chance to escape and free John and Mike. They take off to Earth, but the wounded Nabel is on board with them. He tells John and Mike the truth about their cargo - when they get to Earth a large number of cyborgs will be set loose, effectively killing the entire population. John tells Cindy and Mike to take the escape pod and he will release the cargo in the atmosphere so it will burn up on reentry. He does so but his truck is destroyed too. Cindy and Mike decide to marry, and see Cindy's mother, who is surprisingly young and attractive. She became ill 20 years ago and was frozen
until a cure was found. John is smitten with her.
Within a few days Saggs has been elected World President. He visits the trio in the hospital and offers John a new truck and a suitcase full of money if the group will keep quiet about his cyborg plan. John agrees, but Mike is angry and throws the suitcase out of the window just as Saggs is getting in his limo. Saggs has planted a bomb in the case and pushes the detonator button just as it lands on the limo's roof, killing him. With Saggs dead and Earth safe, Mike, Cindy, John and Cindy's mother blast off in the brand new truck that Saggs gave them.
rating the film at 9%, based on 11 reviews.
Stuart Gordon
After the University of Wisconsin demanded future theatrical productions by Screw Theater be overseen by a University Professor, Gordon cut his University ties to form Broom Street Theater. Its first production, the new translation of the risque Lysistrata, premiered in May 1969. Gordon is...
. It was filmed at Ardmore Studios
Ardmore Studios
Ardmore Studios is a film studio in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland which was founded by Emmet Dalton and opened by the Minister for Industry and Commerce Seán Lemass on May 12, 1958....
, County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
The story concerns John Canyon, one of the last independent space transport entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
s. Bad times have forced him to carry suspicious cargo to Earth without asking questions. During the flight the cargo turns out to be a multitude of virtually unstoppable killer robot
Cybernetic revolt
Cybernetic revolt or robot uprising is a scenario in which an artificial intelligence decide that humans are a threat , are inferior, or are oppressors and try to destroy or to enslave them potentially leading to...
s.
Plot
In the farside base on one of NeptuneNeptune
Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun in the Solar System. Named for the Roman god of the sea, it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter and the third largest by mass. Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus, which is 15 times...
's moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
s, Triton
Triton (moon)
Triton is the largest moon of the planet Neptune, discovered on October 10, 1846, by English astronomer William Lassell. It is the only large moon in the Solar System with a retrograde orbit, which is an orbit in the opposite direction to its planet's rotation. At 2,700 km in diameter, it is...
, company soldiers set up their defense perimeter, preparing for an attack from an unstoppable cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
warrior. The officer and building commander seals the room. During a routine transmission the outside tank patrol is attacked and destroyed. Almost immediately after the chopper patrol is attacked and crashes into the base, allowing the cyborg into the sealed room. The soldiers are no match for the cyborg and are killed one by one. At the last second Nabel deactivates the warrior with a remote control. They find out the cyborg warrior was created by their boss, E. J. Saggs and Nabel. After Saggs finds out about the remote, he has Nabel killed by one of the cyborgs.
Keller, the trucker boss, is killed during a brawl on the space station. Truckers John, Cindy and Mike take a job delivering "Sex dolls" to Earth. They are aware that the cargo are not really sex dolls, but this is the only way they can get off of the station. John decides to go through the pirate controlled scum-zone; the truck is damaged and they are captured by the pirates. Cindy agrees to have sex with the pirate captain if he will take only their cargo and let them go. The Captain reveals himself to be Nabel, who surived Sagg's attempt on his life, but only as a badly built cyborg. One of the cyborgs breaks out of the containers and kills the pirates, giving Cindy a chance to escape and free John and Mike. They take off to Earth, but the wounded Nabel is on board with them. He tells John and Mike the truth about their cargo - when they get to Earth a large number of cyborgs will be set loose, effectively killing the entire population. John tells Cindy and Mike to take the escape pod and he will release the cargo in the atmosphere so it will burn up on reentry. He does so but his truck is destroyed too. Cindy and Mike decide to marry, and see Cindy's mother, who is surprisingly young and attractive. She became ill 20 years ago and was frozen
Suspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
until a cure was found. John is smitten with her.
Within a few days Saggs has been elected World President. He visits the trio in the hospital and offers John a new truck and a suitcase full of money if the group will keep quiet about his cyborg plan. John agrees, but Mike is angry and throws the suitcase out of the window just as Saggs is getting in his limo. Saggs has planted a bomb in the case and pushes the detonator button just as it lands on the limo's roof, killing him. With Saggs dead and Earth safe, Mike, Cindy, John and Cindy's mother blast off in the brand new truck that Saggs gave them.
Cast
- Dennis HopperDennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
as John Canyon - Debi MazarDebi MazarDeborah "Debi" Mazar is an American actress, perhaps best known for her Jersey Girl-type roles; as sharp-tongued women in independent films; and for her recurring role as press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage.-Early life:...
as Cindy - Stephen DorffStephen DorffStephen Dorff is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade and Cecil B. DeMented.-Early life:...
as Mike Pucci - George WendtGeorge WendtGeorge Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
as Keller - Charles DanceCharles DanceWalter Charles Dance, OBE is an English actor, screenwriter and director. Dance typically plays assertive bureaucrats or villains. His most famous roles are Guy Perron in The Jewel in the Crown , Dr Clemens, the doctor of penitentiary Fury 161, who becomes Ellen Ripley's confidante in Alien 3 ,...
as Nabel/Macanudo - Seamus Flavin as Chopper 4
- Jason O'MaraJason O'MaraJason O'Mara is an Irish actor who starred in the American television network dramas In Justice and Life on Mars. He now appears in the Fox series Terra Nova.- Career :He performed with The Royal Shakespeare Company...
as Chopper 3 - Vernon WellsVernon Wells (actor)Vernon George Wells is an Australian film and television actor who has built his career around action-type films, most often cast as a villain...
as Mr. Cutt - Sandra DickinsonSandra DickinsonSandra Dickinson is an American-British actress. She trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She has often played a dumb blonde with a high-pitched voice in the UK – notably commencing in the St...
as Bitchin' Betty - Tim Loane as Trooper Officer
- Ian Beattie as Trooper
- Olwen FouéréOlwen FouéréOlwen Fouéré, born in Ireland of Breton parents, is an Irish/French actress and theatre artist whose work occupies a central position in contemporary Irish theatre and crosses the boundaries of many art forms. She has performed with most major theatre companies in Ireland and the United Kingdom...
as Building Commander - Shane RimmerShane RimmerShane Rimmer is a Canadian actor and voice actor, probably best known as the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds.He has mostly performed in supporting roles, frequently in films and television series filmed in the United Kingdom, having relocated to England in the late 1950s, initially performing...
as E. J. Saggs - Roger Gregg as Tank Patrol
- Dennis AkayamaDennis AkayamaDenis Akiyama is a Japanese-Canadian actor and voice actor best known as providing the voice of Iceman/Bobby Drake and Sunfire in the X-Men Animated Series and Malachite in the English version of Sailor Moon.He was also a frequent guest star on Katts and Dog.-Filmography:* Repo Men 10 .....
as Tech Leader - Graeme WilkinsonGraeme WilkinsonGraeme 'Dreams' Wilkinson is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne and Richmond in the Victorian Football League ....
as Jackie - Sean LawlorSean LawlorSean Lawlor was an Irish character actor and playwright. He was best known for his portrayal of Malcolm Wallace in Mel Gibson's Oscar-winning epic, Braveheart. In addition, he also appeared in James Cameron's Titanic and Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father...
as Mel
Reception
The film was poorly received by critics, with Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
rating the film at 9%, based on 11 reviews.
Other reviews
- Empire June 1997 p. 46 (UK) review (by Kim Newman)
- Film Review June 1997 p. 21 (UK) review (by James Cameron-Wilson)
- Total Film June 1997 p. 100 (UK) review (by Anthony Brown)