Cyber Bandits

A good deal of scenic travelogue footage fixes the location in this futuristic affair as being an unidentified but exotic Asian island, ipso facto ruled by a villainous technology mogul, Morgan Wells, played in his best deadpan manner by Robert Hays, who has financed development of a preposterous weapon that is engineered to translocate the minds of its outer directed human targets into a permanent condition of virtual reality. Wells' mistress, Rebecca (Alexandra Paul), weary of his harsh treatment of her, steals a CD-ROM which contains encrypted data requisite for the weapon's implementation, with the hope of capitalizing her escape and freedom but understands she will not be able to achieve her objective alone, thereby luring naive Jack Morris (Martin Kemp), navigator aboard the tycoon's yacht, to aid her in her flight. Jack and his Cockney shipmate Manny (Adam Ant) have their shore leave interrupted by Rebecca's plans, particularly so since Morris permits feelings of compassion to bring him into a romantic involvement with the waifish temptress, who induces him into having the stolen data tattooed upon his back within a dragon-like design, and soon Wells and an opposition troupe are literally after Jack's hide (the original title was Sailor's Tattoo). The comic book background of scriptor James Robinson is easily visible throughout this low budget film as there is but meagre development of his characters, and neophtye director Erik Fleming is not yet adept in the craft of pacing, but there are scintillas of wit, and savoury acting turns from James Hong and from Hays as a wryly devilish Wells.