User Reviews

In 1966, Nick Nostro wrote and directed Superargo Versus Diabolicus. It must have done well, because this sequel came out two years later, except that it has a totally different cast and crew. Paolo Bianchini wrote and directed, with Ken Wood (Giovanni Cianfriglia) - Steve Reeve's body double - taking over as Superargo. He'd go on to be in several Enzo G. Castellari movies like Keoma and Tuareg - The Desert Warrior.

The actual movie is pretty simple. Superargo is a pro wrestler who seems to have an endless array of superpowers that pretty much show up when and if he needs them. Different sports stars are being turned into Faceless Giants that all want to kill Superargo, who has a swami sidekick. So there's that.

Obviously, by this week's movies, you can tell that I'm fascinated when wrestlers battle crime. This is but another tale in that vein, but perhaps not as completely mental as a Mexican lucha movie.

This movie was a laugh riot and incredibly cheesy like most of the Italian secret agent films from the era. This one basically features a guy who seems to be a knockoff of the Phantom the purple clad hero who wears a mask and for reasons unknown is popular in Europe. Seriously, dude wears purple in the jungle, what's up with that? The man difference, this guy has a red outfit and he has powers that he randomly uses as he tries to complete his new mission! Apparently there is another film, but he did not have the powers in his first outing.

The story has a group of strange men kidnapping professional athletes. These strange men are neither giants or faceless, so that is kind of a bummer. I mean they are sort of tall, but 6 foot tall is hardly giant. Well, this one guy is pressured into bringing in Super Argo reluctantly, and who can blame him as Super Argo kind of screws up a lot during the first portion of the film as he allows a girl he promised to protect get kidnapped and kind of just breaks off pursuit of her and then later manages to lose the people he is tailing. He also should ditch the sidekick as at one point Super Argo is kicking the faceless giants with faces butts and his stupid sidekick gets stuck in quicksand. I mean the dude is constantly whining to Argo for help. At some point Argo finds the enemy stronghold that was literally pointed out to him by a woman working with the mad scientist type earlier in the film. Literally, he lost the guys he was tailing, they disappeared in the area and there is a lone castle in the general vicinity. Hm, wonder where that hideout could be?

This guy is a joke as he is a professional wrestler and he wears the costume because it brings him luck...at least that is what he tells one girl. Later he is shot point blank in the crotch and says, "Thank goodness my suit is bulletproof." Um, I would think that would be the reason he was wearing it. Meanwhile, at one point he is in the elevator with the people he rescued and the elevator opens and a guy starts shooting and Argo ducks to the side, leading to one of the prisoner's death! Wow, not too super Argo! And why are you making these guys who are prisoners fight? Haven't they been through enough?

So, this guy is not to super and his powers are inconsistent, but it is still a rather fun movie to watch. Very reminiscent of Danger Death Ray, another Italian secret agent film that is super cheesy, but this one has that one beat as at least this one did not resort to toys in a bathtub for action scenes. One thing that was confusing was the whole kidnapping the athletes thing. At first, I thought they were being turned into the robots, but then at the end they are prisoners. So what was the point? Were the extra guys going to be turned to robots and if that is the case didn't Super Argo kind of kill a whole lot of innocent people who got turned into robots, if so not very super. I mean, Batman was able to separate men turned into dust and reform them, you couldn't even turn a man back from being a robot!

Who exactly is Superargo? Oh, he's only your average everyday secret agent / masked crime-fighter / pro-wrestler / acrobat / telepath who can also levitate and see through walls. And he's nice to the ladies. Unlike most superheroes of his ilk, Superargo doesn't seem to have a "normal" second identity - he never takes his costume off! This is an enjoyable film if you're a fan of any of the genres involved, though it's too shallow for more than one or two viewings. The director frequently fixes his camera on extreme close-up shots of the remarkably beautiful face of Diana Lorys - he seems to know that her face is the movie's best special effect, although her role could hardly be more thankless (BTW, IMDb has the names of the females characters switched around). **1/2 out of 4.

This sequel to SUPERARGO VERSUS DIABOLICUS offers up more of the same comic-book style craziness, with everyone's favourite red spandex-wearing hero going up against some of the cheesiest "monsters" you're ever likely to see in a movie, Italian or not: robot-men (for some reason referred to throughout as "giants", even though they're not), complete with computer-style sound effects and antenna sticking out of their heads. These robot-men stump around and kill people simply by whacking them with their fists, so they're not exactly the world's most sophisticated fighters. The action sequences in which our hero Superargo battles the robot minions are poorly-choreographed but a hoot to watch, with exaggerated moves and hilarious comic-book style punches and kicks. These automatons remind me of the monsters in the madcap Mexican monster fest NEUTRON VS. THE DEATH ROBOTS except a lot cheesier and sillier-looking, and therefore more fun.

This time Superargo has been developing his latent psychic energy with the help of an Indian friend, which gives him the ability to leap incredible heights and move and destroy objects with his mind alone. Otherwise it's business as usual as our hero takes time out from fighting crime to flirt with a few ladies and go a few rounds in the wrestling ring. Once again there's a welcome emphasis on comedy which makes things a lot easier to handle, and the interesting cast includes Guy Madison as the chief bad guy and Giovanni Cianfriglia (who returns from the first film) as the mighty man himself, Superargo. The plot is about as clichéd and familiar as one might expect, with bank jobs, police investigation, the hero's girlfriend getting hypnotised into attempting to kill him, and lots of other stuff you will have probably seen before if you're a fan of the Eurospy or crime genre.

The good bits include a robot-man getting speared to the wall and later disappearing spookily, Superargo's modified "killer car" which knocks down and impales the bad guys in a wooded clearing (lots of scenes take place in the woods, perhaps betraying the low budget nature of the production), the robot-men getting electrocuted when Superargo lifts an electricity pole Hercules-style and drops it on top of them, Superargo and his Indian friend escaping from a room of kiler gas by levitating into the air to avoid it (luckily, the gas is heavier than air!); there's even a pit of quick sand hanging around (in the Italian woods!) for our bad guy to conveniently fall into.

SUPERARGO AND THE FACELESS GIANTS is an inherently fun film with an action-packed plot that never stops moving or surprising us with cool moments. In many ways this packs together the very best of the short-lived Eurospy genre with a cool jazzy score, which is very '60s in nature, fast cars, and beautiful Italian women who go easy on the eye. Not to mention the endless fights, shootings and bizarre comic-book style action helpings which greatly add to the film's sense of childish fun and atmosphere. An Italian rarity well worth seeking out for the genre fan, because it really does offer up an enjoyable - not to mention unforgettable! - viewing experience, and an excellent double bill with the first in the series.

Virtually a mash-up of the Mexican wrestling flicks featuring the costume-clad crimefighter Santo and the British Broadcasting Company's sci-fi series "Dr. Who" and his villainous Cybermen, "Superargo and the Faceless Giants" qualifies as a straightforward but outlandish superhero sequel to Nick Nostro's "Superargo Vs. Diabolicus" (1966) as he contends with an evil scientist, Professor Wendland Wond (Guy Madison of "This Man Can't Die"), who uses hilarious-looking robots to rob banks. Literally, these automatons resemble Dr. Who's enemies the Cybermen because they wear bizarre helmets with wires sprouting from either side of their heads. They also wear white hose stretched over their faces, and their eyes are ringed with dark circles. These dastards are bulletproof and practically impregnable whenever they appear. Traveling around in vans, these androids plunder banks for loot. Reluctantly, the authorities resort to former wrestling champion Superargo (Giovanni Cianfriglia of "Three Giants of the Roman Empire") to thwart these robots along with their deranged creator. Basically, Professor Wond has been abducting championship wrestlers and converting them into his personal army of cyber soldiers equipped with electric hearts. No, we're never shown Wond's conversion process. The filmmakers leave that to our imagination. Eventually, our masked crusader Superargo and his turban-clad sidekick Kamir (Aldo Sambrell of "For A Few Dollars More"), who has taught the muscular Superargo how to marshal his psychic powers, devise a way to neutralize the electric hearts in these so-called "Faceless Giants."

Superargo reminded me of newspaper artist Lee Falk and his celebrated purple costume-clad troubleshooter "The Phantom." However, the brawny Superargo cavorts about in a crimson red, bulletproof outfit. Early in the film, we watch Superargo concentrate his psychic powers under Kamir's tutelage to shatter a piece of pottery several feet beyond his arm's reach. Indeed, Superargo's mental capabilities enable him to escape from a life-or-death predicament later when the villains try to decapitate him. Of course, nobody should treat these juvenile antics seriously. Nevertheless, "Our Men in Bagdad" director Paolo Bianchini and "A Bullet for Sandoval" scenarist Julio Buchs do their level best to give this goofy but entertaining hokum an illusion of gravity. Although our hero tangles repeatedly with these menacing, remote-controlled, robots, the violence is mild, without a drop of either blood or gore. Like Batman, Superargo cruises around in a sports car, his own Jaguar, when he isn't tooling around in his specially designed station wagon which has huge claws concealed in the hood. Imagine one of those cars in a "Mad Max" movie, and you'll have a good idea about Superargo's vehicle. Childishly ridiculous from fade-in to fadeout, "Superargo" rarely stoops to lowest common denominator comic relief. Happily, since "Superargo" is an Italian Spanish, sci-fi, superhero saga, everybody is dubbed. Actually, the lips match the dialogue. Furthermore, observant listeners should have no difficulty understanding the crisp, clear dialogue. Some dialogue exchanges are memorable. When our brawny hero utters his dialogue, every word and syllable comes out sounding seriously.