Superargo (Italy 1968)

Rating: *
Alternate Title: L'invincibile Superman
Review Date: 9/18/11
Cast: Giovanni Cianfriglia

Wow. It's hard to imagine a time when films like this ever got made. Superargo (buff Giovanni Cianfriglia) is an ex-pro wrestler who wears a mask and a red bulletproof spandex bodysuit, and studies Hindu mysticism with his Indian sidekick Kamir. He's also a freelance law enforcer and bodyguard, and he gets hired by the Secret Service to solve a case that involves the world's top athletes being kidnapped. The kidnappers are super-strong remote controlled humanoid robots that are the creation of a mad scientist whose goals are unclear. When the villain sets his sites on Superargo, he gets more than he bargained for and ends up in a very bad state. Apparently, the law just turns a blind eye to Superargo's particular brand of vigilante justice.

The whole production is unbelievably bad, and the film stock has suffered horribly since it was first released. The wrestling scenes are of course ridiculous, and the other action scenes are equally ludicrous. One of the most outlandish things is a car that is specially equipped with fangs that pop out of the front hood. Huh?!? For what purpose? Skewering robots, I presume, but that never actually happens. The plot is a jumbled mess that bounces all over the place and has little regard for story progression or continuity. The best thing I can say about the film is that it has a snazzy James Bond inspired music score, which livens up the action a bit and just barely makes it watchable.