Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman

source: Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman

I was a big fan of The Six Million Dollar Man when I was a kid. By 1989, any attempts to reboot it was lost on an audience who found it all too cheesy. Even nostalgia was not enough of a hook. The only notable thing about Bionic Showdown was the casting of future big screen star and Oscar winner Sandra Bullock. She is appealing and likeable as Kate Mason. Augmented by bionics as she had a congenital muscle deterioration since childhood. Kate is the fourth bionic person however it seems the technology has been stolen. There is another bionic assailant. Washington thinks that someone in the OSI is dirty and later Oscar Goldman resigns when his nephew is injured. Kate goes undercover in the World Unity Games. There is a conspiracy between rogue American and Russian agents. Steve Austin and Jaime Sommers are in effect relegated to cameos. There is a so called humorous story as Steve constantly attempts to propose to Jaime. Bionic Showdown has better effects for the bionic action but even for 1989, this is not that great. The stunt doubles were poor. The music consisted of irritating soft rock. The story was not not even average, the baddies were easy to guess. It all looked cheap, shot in Canada and an indoor arena was the venue for the Unity Games.

I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO A FRIEND and family to watch this movie it is very good to see so I recommend to everyone

After having just watched a 1973 TV movie and a 1987 TV movie with the bionic characters, I had the opportunity to watch the 1989 TV movie with the long title "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman". In fact, I never even heard about this movie before now in 2022, as I sat down to watch it. I have to admit that I wasn't harboring much of any high expectations for this movie from writers Michael Sloan, Brock Choy and Robert De Laurentiis, as the previous two movies had been mediocre entertainment as best. But I figured that since this 1989 TV movie had Sandra Bullock on the cast list, then I might as well give it a chance. The storyline in "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" was every bit as straight forward and generic as it had been in the previous 1973 TV movie and the 1987 TV movie, so I wasn't in for anything great here. Sure, it was watchable for what it was, but it was by no means a gem in cinematic history. The acting in the movie was adequate from the likes of Lee Majors, Lindsay Wagner, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Yagher and more. Visually then "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" didn't really impress much. The special effects were sparse, so nothing to write home about there. My rating of director Alan J. Levi's 1989 TV movie "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

First, I'll preface by saying I am a huge fan of The Six Million Dollar Man. I started watching the show as a kid, and it has never lost favor with me. Same with the Bionic Woman. Both shows were enjoyable, whether they were being serious, or tongue in cheek. That said, I was somewhat disappointed in this film, as I was in its predecessor. The writing and directing were far too choppy, as if they were trying to compress 4 hours of television into 90 minutes. There are times where it also seems like it was trying too hard to sell a pilot. Like "Return of The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" a few years earlier, the film was composed as a pilot for a series that would spin off from the saga of Steve and Jaime, and, as with most pilots, the network and the studio were characteristically stingy with the budget. The video effects used to make Kate look "more powerful" than Steve and Jaime were far too schlocky and poorly realized, and all of the characterizations were melodramatic pastiches of the originals. Gone was Steve's subtle sense of humor, and Jaime's compassion was twisted into a stereotypical Aaron Spelling-like mom character. Sandra Bulloch's character was ironically the most coherently realized, probably because it was her character that the new series would be based on. Thank goodness for the caveat at the end, leading to Steve and Jaime getting engaged. It made for a nice lead-in to what would turn out to be the best (by a wide margin) of all the Bionic Reunion films. Much as i love the hows, I have to give this film two bionic thumbs down... although, I'll still watch it every now and then, like a guilty pleasure.

Another made for TV movie based on the hit show is BACK! This time, they can get the help they could ever need. "The Bionic Showdown" is way more thrilling than the show ever could give. Steve and Jamie(Lee Majors& Lindsey Wagner) get a new assistant who is younger and faster than they are. There's Kate Mason(Sandra Bullock), the first volunteer to become bionic. Jamie had helped her get over the feeling after the accident before becoming bionic. And the action is never lost in this movie. Allan(Geraint Wyn Davies) is a "friend" of Kate, Steve, and Jamie. This guy later showed his true colors to be a spy, and a traitor. When Kate found out while she was racing, She really put her bionics to the test. Allan should have known better about using his bionics. Misuse leads to uncertainty, and most will learn the hard way one way or the other. I thought Barney Miller was a problem in the SMDM. At least he got redemption. Plenty of action, plenty of suspense, and plenty of surprise, this movie got it all, and the reunion goes on and on... Rating 3 out of 5 stars.

Another great comeback for Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner as the bionic duo of Steve Austin and Jamie Sommers. Unfortunately, the movie tended to show more of Sandra Bullock at times than Lee Majors or Lindsay Wagner. Yes, a lot of people who commented here said that she was great. I agree her character was fantastic. Her character, Kate, overcame paralysis when she received a bionic leg. But I felt that her character was only supposed to be a supporting one here, not in practically every other scene. But I think this is probably how she got noticed in this film and made it to the big screen. The story is basically about a bionic villain who tries to assassinate Russian diplomats watching an olympic-type event. Note how they couldn't use the word, Olympics. Probably the IOC said no to the producers.

American cheats to win gold at the Olympics. True story? No, but if it was, it could be about ANY American athlete...Marion Jones et.al. Actually, this is a movie which brings back TV favourites "The six million dollar man" and "The bionic woman"...remember? Steve Austin as the six dollar million man? Jaime Sommers as the bionic woman? These two characters are people who have had horrific accidents which nearly kill them, but they are 'fixed' by a secret US government organisation using advanced mechanical/electronic devices (to replace lost or damaged limbs/organs). Austin and Sommers then use their 'superpowers' to fight spys etc. That's the basic plot of the old series. This telemovie (?) features Sandra Bullock (!!) as a new 'bionic' person. Looks to have been a pilot which never got commissioned into a television series. Surprise, surprise! If you are nostalgic about the original series, you will enjoy seeing Austin and Sommers again. The special effects are different to the original series. I'm giving this movie a really low score for the stupid Olympics segment I mentioned earlier. Truly inane. Did the US Olympic team watch this movie for inspiration/justification? Anyway, I first saw this movie LATE at night on commercial TV, maybe a couple of years ago, or so. May even have been a premier! For die-hard fans only.

I really did like this film. After The Return Of The Six Million Dollar Man And The Bionic Woman which i have only seen the trailer of because the video is not avaliable. I reallly did like this film because it had a good story and basically it was like an extended episode. So good story and good action. Brillant.

I must admit, when my hubby told me this was going to be on last night, I laughed out loud. Sandra is/was/will be very cute & perky, & she does a good job no matter how bad the script/storyline is. The 2 hours I spent in front of the TV was well worth the laughs I got from the sound & visual effects. I miss the old Bionic sounds from the TV show!!! If you have the opportunity to watch this, I'd say do it, but don't expect too much. Instead, just expect a cute story with a bit of a love line & a bit of a spy line.