My review was written in May 1991 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.
Some unintentional humor doesn't save this unnecessary sequel, a quickie that's all talk and no action. Sci-fi premise is wasted on standard shootouts.
Film is actually the second attempted sequel to 1985's comedy film noir "Future Cop" a/k/a "Trancers", following a segment of Charles Band' unfinished 1987 three-part pic for his Empire Pictures banner, titled "Pulse Pounders".
New "Trancers II" is a talkfest that almost comically dwells on bringing the viewer up to date. Tim Thomerson returns as Jack Deth, an operative from 100 years in the future still assigned to protect Biff Manard, a former Cy Young Award-winning baseball pitcher who's now a rich commodities broker. He has to be kept alive to yield a descendant who's a top government leader in the future.
Zombies called trancers under the control of evil Richard Lynch (cast as the brother of the villain defeated in the original pic) are trying to kill Manard. Lynch runs an ecology organization as a front, recruiting homeless people to turn into more trancers.
Time paradoxes are lightly touched upon here, but other than the stupid gimmick of a watch that shows time for 15 seconds, there's precious little sci-fi content. The time-travel chamber looks like an aluminum foil prop whiped up over the weekend for a high school play.
Though Thomerson tries hard, he's given unfunny one-liners. Rest of the cast, including several cult thesps like Martine Beswicke and Jeffrey Combs, has little to do. Telma Hopkings, touted as co-star in the 1987 sequel, has only a tiny role here. Best performance is by Sonny Carl Davis (of "Last Night at the Alamo"), rather sympathetic as an asylum orderly.
Extremely poor production values give "Trancers II" a home movie look at times, and many scenes are shot in closeup with the actors looking directly at the camera. Special effects are meager, and the dreaded trancers disappoin=tingly put up no fight at all as the heroes calmly shoot them down.