Eve of Destruction (film)

Eve of Destruction is a 1991 American science fiction action thriller film. The film is about a nuclear armed prototype android named EVE gone amok while being field tested by the military in a big city. The film stars Gregory Hines as Col. Jim McQuade and Dutch actress Renée Soutendijk (in her first U.S. film) with the dual roles as the robot's creator Dr. Eve Simmons, and the robot Eve herself.

Eve of Destruction
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Duncan Gibbins
Written by	Duncan Gibbins Yale Udoff
Produced by	David Madden
Starring	Gregory Hines Renée Soutendijk
Cinematography	Alan Hume
Edited by	Caroline Biggerstaff
Music by	Philippe Sarde
Production companies	Nelson Entertainment Interscope Communications
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release dates	January 18, 1991 (1991-01-18) (United States) August 7, 1991 (1991-08-07) (France) December 6, 1991 (1991-12-06) (Netherlands)
Running time	100 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$7-11 million[2]
Box office	$5,451,119

Plot

EVE VIII is a military android created to look and sound exactly like her creator, Dr. Eve Simmons. When the robot is damaged during a bank robbery, it accesses memories it was programmed with by her creator. The memories used, though, are dark and tragic ones.

The robot is also programmed as a killing machine if anyone tries to stop her mission. Colonel Jim McQuade is tasked with eliminating the unstoppable machine. With the help of Dr. Simmons, he tries to outthink the intelligent and emotional robotic doppelgänger.

Cast

• Gregory Hines as Col. Jim McQuade
• Renée Soutendijk as Dr. Eve Simmons/EVE VIII
• Kurt Fuller as Bill Schneider
• Michael Greene as General Curtis
• John M. Jackson as Peter Arnold
• George P. Wilbur as Trooper
• Kevin McCarthy as William Simmons (uncredited)

Production

Principal photography began in December 1989 and took place at an abandoned Budweiser glass factory in Valencia, California which the production converted into a soundstage.^[2] Duncan Gibbins said the casting of Gregory Hines and Renée Soutendijk as the leads was not only motivated by the film's modest budget, but also because he wanted to cast performers against type.^[2]

Reception

The film received negative reviews from critics, having a 20% "rotten" score on RottenTomatoes.com.^[3] Vincent Canby gave a negative review in The New York Times, calling the film "an undistinguished, barely functional action-melodrama."^[4]

Box office

The movie opened with $2.5 million.^[5] It finished its run with a total of $5,451,119 against a $13 million budget, making it a box-office bomb.

Home media

Eve of Destruction released on VHS on August 8, 1991, from New Line Home Video. Also, MGM Home Entertainment released Eve of Destruction on DVD on July 15, 2003.