Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
video © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
Article updated: 2023.06.12
The Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die (2017) is a war drama film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
Original title: Кiборги: Герої не вмирають (Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut), English title: Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die
Series: -
Other adaptations of the story: -
Setting: contemporary Earth
Product type: Film, Genre: war drama, Style: drama, military, action, military action
Release: 2017.12.07
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: very recent (2022.04), first time
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points)
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This is my review of Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, a war drama movie from 2017. It's set during the Russo-Ukrainian War, and it's about a team of soldiers trying to defend an important objective from falling into enemy hands. The Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film is watchable, but I only recommend it to people who are interested in the conflict.
Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
video © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
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Review (spoiler-free) - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
I didn't know anything about this movie before I ran into it. From the title, I assume it will be some kind of futuristic military action story. I didn't watch the trailer.
The Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die movie is set during the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-2022-), and it's about a team of soldiers trying to defend an important objective from falling into enemy hands.
The story is okay, but not particularly interesting. As a war drama, it doesn't say anything new, although it does shed some light on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Most of the movie is consistent, but the last ten minutes are weak compared to the rest. There are no character arcs. There are no major logical problems.
The cinematography is okay, except for the action scenes. Most of the story is set in ruined interiors, making the movie not really interesting visually. The action scenes are not always easy to follow. The soldiers on both sides wear practically the same gear, and we get constantly changing outside point of view shots, making it impossible to tell who are we watching, who is in a better position. There's depiction of violence - it's a war movie after all -, but there's not much blood or gore, people just fall if they are hit.
The characters are generic. We get some background information, but not enough to really get engaged to them. It was interesting though that it was shown that they had widely different ideologies. Their portrayal by the actors is believable, realistic.
The music (by Milosh Elich) is mostly quiet, and not very memorable, but it fits the story.
Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die is a watchable war drama, that I think only devoted fans of the genre could enjoy.
Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
image © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
My experience
I was not satisfied with Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die (2017). I prefer stories with interesting, engaging plots, and Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die couldn't deliver that.
I assume that if you are Ukrainian, the movie will give you a totally different emotional response than the one I've got.
Rating: Average (2 out of 3 points). Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die is a watchable war drama.
Enjoyment: Weak (2- out of 3 points). Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die was confusing, and not very interesting overall.
Rewatchability: Low. It's the surprise of the story that makes you feel slightly interested.
Chance of watching it again: No.
Chance of watching a sequel: Low. I might watch it in the right circumstances.
Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
image © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
Will you enjoy this?
If you like war drama movies, you might like Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die.
If you are interested in the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-2022-), it's certainly an interesting movie to watch.
If you prefer military action movies, you'll probably find the Cyborgs movie lacking in action.
If you'd like to get comedic moments in your movies, Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die will disappoint you, as it's mostly serious.
If you can get through the first half hour of the movie still interested, the rest of the film will be something similar.
If you hate subtitles, there already an English audio dub for the Cyborgs movie.
If you prefer visuals over story, this movie will be probably boring for you.
If you hate depiction of violence, you'll probably dislike this film.
Things you are required to know to enjoy this
Russo-Ukrainian War (2014-2022-): In 2014, Russia started a war against Ukraine, and they've rallied locals - the separatists - to work for them as soldiers. Both sides considered the Donetsk Airport as an important objective, although by the time the movie starts, it was unusable as an airport, so its importance was more or less symbolical. The Ukrainians started to call the defenders of the airport as "cyborgs", that's where the title comes.
Do you need to see the other films to enjoy this?
I think you'd appreciate Cyborgs a lot better if you've seen the Airport Donetsk (2015) documentary. In this movie, there are many references to things mentioned there, without any explanation, making these references somewhat moot. If you've decided to watch Cyborgs (2017), I highly recommend you to find Airport Donetsk and watch it. It's about half an hour, but it adds so much to this movie, that it will be worth your time.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in urban war stories, I think it's worth watching the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die movie for the plot points.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you watch it in cinema. However, I'm not sure the movie is worth the admission price.
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Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
image © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
Review with spoilers - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
I didn't really like the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die movie, although it was okay to view it once.
The last ten minutes were tedious to watch. Nothing happened, and we were just hammered with sad scenes, so we'd get sad, instead of getting the audience into that mood on their own.
I welcome it that despite being financed by the Ukrainian government, it still shows controversial subjects:
- Around half of the Ukrainian soldiers speak Russian instead of Ukrainian, because that was what they were used to. The movie gives Ukrainian subtitles for the spoken Russian, although I assume that the Ukrainian audiences will understand it for a while.
- A young soldier criticises the country for letting the oligarchs steal everything.
- The Ukrainian soldiers get contradicting commands from their higher ups - they have to hold the place, but they can't shoot at the assaulting soldiers, as it would shed bad light on them.
- An Ukrainian soldier shoots a captive Russian dead, as he hates the enemy so much.
- An Ukrainian soldier tortures a captive Russian.
The story might have worked better as a longer movie, or a mini-series, where we could have known the characters better, it might have made the events resonate more.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.
The trailer
The trailer is okay, it gives us a glimpse of what we'll get in the movie, without spoiling the experience.
Promise of the first scene
Soldiers are defending an airport from approaching enemy forces. They know that they will be attacked by artillery, probably killing all of them, but they still decide to stay. The commander says that they are better than humans - they are almost like cyborgs. I assume we'll see how they'll hold out against the enemy, or how will they retake the airport after the enemy has conquered it.
I'm already disappointed, because it became clear that the "cyborg" in the title is just a nickname for the soldiers.
Execution: The artillery strike was cancelled (or at least postponed), so we didn't even get that. There was no "last stand" or "final push". I'm not satisfied with the promise at all.
After the movie switches back to days earlier, I also assumed that we'll get to know why are they considered super-human, but we didn't even get to see that, their title is just taken as granted.
Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
image © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
Plot summary / Synopsis
Now, Donetsk airport, 2014: After four months of fighting, Ukrainian soldiers are still defending the airport against Russian forces. They prepare for an all-out artillery attack. The commander calls his soldiers "cyborgs", as they are better than a regular human.
10 days earlier: We see the soldiers leaving their base for the Donetsk Airport. On route, they get attacked by mortar fire, but they manage to get there.
Before they get used to the place, they are already sent to check some movement on the perimeter. At the new terminal, they run into separatist soldiers, but they fend them off, forcing the survivors into a dead end.
The new team get assigned to a commander (Vyacheslav Dovzhenko as Serpeny / August), to be stationed at the new terminal, to guard the separatists. One of the new soldiers find dead bodies in the freezer. They tell them it's one of the first enemy soldiers they've killed, as they hoped to exchange them for something, but the enemy doesn't care about their casualties. At night, one of the young soldiers (Makar Tikhomirov as Major), who doesn't have a gun, decides to go out to the no man's land, to get one. He is able to kill some separatist soldiers, get some guns, and steal their car. He even takes a captive, but another young soldier kills the captive, to take revenge for his fallen friends. The young soldiers gets sent home for disobeying orders, but then the commander changes his mind, and gives him another chance. Another soldier gets a heart attack, and gets sent away to the hospital.
It's been a week after they've forced the separatists into hiding, when they try to break out. They think that they've killed all but one separatist, who is still hiding.
The young soldier finds a suspicious guy in the building, whom he shots in the leg, and takes captive. However, before he could take him to the others, the young soldiers gets knocked out by an explosion, as the Russians start their assault. They are able to push them back, but suffer some casualties. They capture some of the enemy soldiers. A general visits them. The soldiers get reprimanded, because there was a cease-fire at that time, and they shouldn't have shot back at the Russian soldiers.
The team is sent to a prisoner exchange. Although there is some tension, everything goes well.
A veteran soldier (Roman Yasinovsky as Guide) finds and tortures a hiding separatist, whom they think is the last. He confesses that he himself had been severely tortured by Russians, both mentally and physically. After the commander talks to the separatist, he sees that he is just a misguided man, who wants to go home, so he let's him go free. However, as he walks towards their lines, he gets shot by the Russians.
Now: The soldiers prepare for the incoming attack. When tanks appear instead of the missile artillery they were afraid of, they start to cheer. One of their own tanks gets shot down, so they storm out to get the crew to safety. One of them gets seriously wounded, so he gets sent to a hospital, and they send the young soldier to bring him there.
After this, the commander and a soldier talk about the young soldier, who they know is a famous musician. That's why he wants to send him away, so they wouldn't lose a talent like him.
Then, the commander gets shot by the last hiding separatist. By the time they find him, he dies due to the wound he suffered from the young soldier.
The young soldier takes the wounded soldier and the dead commander out in a van.
Then, some time passes, and we see that new soldiers arrive at the airport, but the young soldier also gets back.
The setting
The story is set in 2014, when Ukraine was attacked by Russia, and Ukrainian soldiers are trying to defend Donetsk.
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Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
image © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
Analysis of the story - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
I didn't really like the story, but I didn't find major logical problems. It was the faults of the dramatisation that prevented me from enjoying Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die.
The message of the story
"It doesn't matter if you are extremely talented in your professions, you have to take up arms if your country is attacked." and "It's hard to defend a country that was constantly robbed by the corrupt leaders."
The structure of the story
The scenes of the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. It begins with a flash-forward, then we see how things got to that point.
There's no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, and a weak resolution.
Things I liked
- The depiction of the Ukrainian soldiers was good, they looked and acted like real soldiers. (However, I was not satisfied with their separatist counterparts.)
Problematic elements
The title: The title is misleading. There are no cyborgs in the movie, and this name is only mentioned twice in the movie, so it's not like that's a regularly used nickname for this group of soldiers. (Update: Reading about the event, it looks like that "cyborgs" was indeed the name given to Ukrainian soldiers fighting at the airport, and the name became part of the local jargon. There's even a "Remembrance Day of the Cyborgs" held in Ukraine. However, this was still not emphasised in the movie at all.)
Shooting the guy in the leg: Why does the young soldier shoot him at all? Sure, he is suspicious, but it's not like he knows everybody around the place. Even a leg-shot could kill the guy. Yes, I know it turns out that he was right to shoot him, and that shot was what killed the enemy soldier, yet, it's just there to get the plot where the creators wanted.
The tank attack: The Russian soldiers look very unprofessional during the tank attack. They just stroll around, waiting to jump when the explosions happen.
The death of the commander: When they all gather to show their sad faces, while the young guy plays a sad music, that's just overly melodramatic. Then, again, when the body is delivered to the command.
Debris on the hiding place: How did the hiding separatist put debris above the trap door? Especially as he was dying at the time, and probably had fever.
Unanswered questions
- Will there be a missile strike after the events we have seen?
- What happened to the airport? Did the Ukrainians win?
- What's up with the "cyborgs"?
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Possibilities of improvement
- Lose the "cyborg" from the title. Or add dialogue, making the characters jokingly call each others cyborgs, to reinforce the title.
- Change the action scenes to show one side on constantly from the same angle. If the attackers are coming from the left, and the defenders are on the right, the audience would understand it better what has just happened on the screen.
- Add dialogue to make it instantly clear what happened at the combat in the new terminal - that the enemy was stuck at a dead end, and they are sent there to guard the separatist. This would add proper tension to the situation.
- The prisoner exchange was mostly unnecessary, it could be cut.
- During the tank battle, make the shots depicting the Russian soldiers short, so we don't see the lazy choreography.
How it could have been better?
Add character arcs to the characters. None of them changes even a little bit. There's a brief moment of possibility for a character arc, when one of the soldiers reveals that he has been tortured, but then he switches back to his previous jolly personality.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I haven't seen any other works of the writer (Natalya Vorozhbit) or the director (Akhtem Seitablaev).
How does it compare to the original events?
I assume that the movie dramatises the events of 2014.10.03, when Russian forces broke into the old terminal building, using drones and smoke screen. The Ukrainians pushed them back, destroying two of their tanks. 12 Russian soldiers and 4 Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
Now, in the movie, we don't see any drones. Only one Ukrainian tank is shown as incapacitated. While it's hard to count, it looks a lot more than 16 soldiers killed.
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
image © Ukrainian State Film Agency & Idas Film
Uses for the film - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
Plot
- Set in a contemporary setting.
Scenes
- The first fight inside the new terminal is a good was to depict urban fighting.
- When the separatists try to get out, it's also a good close quarters fight scene.
- The tank battle is also a good way to show some tank-on-tank action.
- When the separatist push into the building, it's a nice way to show a bloody close assault in an urban setting.
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Patrol team: The team is sent to patrol in a crowded terrain (jungle, urban area, rocky labyrinth) they didn't get the chance to get to know before the fight begins.
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Defending an unknown area: There's an area where the defenders have been killed. Another team of defenders are sent, while a team of attackers assault the area. Neither team knows what's inside. The terrain is generated randomly as they enter an area. There are also traps in random locations, left by the previous defenders. Each time a new area is set up, put a marker on the largest terrain piece. When a model touches that terrain piece, remove the marker, and roll a d6. On a 6, it was a trap, and the model is hit. The side that kills more than half of the other side, while retaining more than half of their own force is the winner.
Surprise strike: The attackers disguised themselves in stolen uniforms, so they got very close. The fight begins in point blank range. The defender sets up the playing area, and chooses an edge. The defender sets up their units on that quarter of the playing area. Then, the attacker places their own models anywhere else on the playing area. The attackers win if at least half of their team leaves on the defender's edge. The defender wins if they kill more than half of the attackers, while more than half of the defenders is still alive.
Retrieve the crew: In the middle of the battleground, a vehicle gets shot down. The crew must be retrieved by a team of soldiers, while the enemy tries to prevent this.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Soldiers: Human-sized (S3) modern soldiers.
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Similar stories - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
Movies
Airport Donetsk (2015): Documentary film about the events that inspired this movie.
Fortress of War (2010): In a historical (WW2) setting, soldiers are defending a building (military station) against enemy forces.
Sahara (1995): In a historical (WW2) setting, a small team of soldiers are defending a building against overwhelming enemy forces. The movie was better than Cyborgs.
The Outpost (2019): In a contemporary (Afghanistan war) setting, soldiers are defending a building (military station) against overwhelming enemy forces. The movie was better than Cyborgs.
Games - Board games - Battle for the Donietsk Airport
Taktyka i Strategia #45: Donieck Airport (2021): A chit-based wargame about the battle for Donietsk Airport in 2014-2015. Published in Polish and English.
Yaah! #9: Donetsk: Battle for The Airport (Flying Pig Games, 2017): A chit-based wargame about the battle for Donietsk Airport in 2014.
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Frequently asked questions - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
Will the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die movie be available with English audio dub?
Yes, Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die is already available with English audio dub, not just English subtitles. Although some people complained that they were not satisfied with the English audio and the voice actors.
Is the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film based on a book or comics?
No, Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die is not based on either books or comics, but it's based on real events that happened in the battle for Donetsk Airport.
Is the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film a remake or reboot?
No, the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die? Does Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die have end credit scenes? Does Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die have a post credit scene?
No, there's no post credit scene in Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die.
Where can I see Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die? What is Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die playing on? What streaming service is Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die on? Where can I watch Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die online? Is Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die available on Netflix? Is Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die on Amazon?
As of 2022.04.30, Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die is probably only available on Amazon Prime Video.
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Resources - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
Official
Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die (Facebook): Official Facebook page.
UFD: Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die (in Ukrainian): Official article.
English version by Google Translate
Information
IMDB: Kiborgy. Heroyi ne vmyrayut / Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die (2017): Database article.
WikiPedia: Cyborgs (film): Database article.
WikiPedia: Second Battle of Donetsk Airport: Database article about the conflict.
Letterboxd: Cyborgs 2017: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film (2017)
: Review video about the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film (2017)
: Review article of the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die movie (2017)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die.¤
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Buying the product - Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die, movie (2017)
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Have you seen the Cyborgs: Heroes Never Die film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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