Argoman: The Fantastic Superman (Italy 1967)

Rating: **
Review Date: 9/23/18
Cast: Roger Browne, Dominique Boschero

More unbridled craziness from the swinging sixties. Reginald Hoover's (Roger Browne) alter ego is the nigh-invincible super hero Argoman, a secret that everyone seems to know except for the highly incompetent police. He has the strength of a hundred men and is a master of telekinesis and telepathic suggestion, which comes in handy when he's wooing the ladies. Unfortunately, he loses all of his super powers for six hours every time he has sex, which adds a spice of excitement to his otherwise dull and meaningless existence. The film opens with Jenabell (Dominique Boschero), the self-proclaimed queen of the world (or "queen of the worls", as it appears onscreen), stealing the precious Crown of England and declaring that she'll steal a super rare diamond that was found in the crater of an atomic blast next if her demands aren't met. Smitten by her charms and unaware that she's a super villain, Argoman spies her speeding past his house in a hovercraft and uses his telekinesis to bring her into his waiting arms. Realizing that she's hopelessly trapped and about to be raped, she turns the tables and offers herself to him rather than allowing him to force himself on her. After their tryst, he gives her a radioactive cigarette so that he can track her movements with a Geiger counter that's concealed in his ring. Once he realizes that she's Jenabell, Argoman dedicates himself to stopping her plans for world domination, which involves killer robots, body doubles, and economic ruin.

This film is very much a product of its time, and it's offensive on nearly every level. The egotistical and hedonistic Argoman is more of a super rapist than a super hero, and the film's treatment of women is appalling. Even so, they're very sexy and given a certain amount of empowerment as a result. Dominique Boschero has a stunning figure, and her laughably absurd wardrobe goes to great lengths to just barely cover her naughty bits. She also wears an outrageous amount of eyeliner. The action scenes are pretty inept and reminiscent of Mexican wrestling films, punctuated by a campy jazz soundtrack and Argoman's maniacal laughter. The production values are decent, but the English dubbing is poor. The pacing is also dreadfully slow, which makes the film challenging to watch. It's not silly enough to be funny and not serious enough to be entertaining, which makes it hard to recommend.