Ah, Antonio Margheriti. Or Anthony M. Dawson, as he preferred to call himself. He was one of the most reliable "old-school" Italian directors. You know, the ones who would continue to make movies until they practically dropped dead on a film set. Good old Antony made brilliant gothic horror in the sixties, versatile exploitation efforts in the seventies, and exhilarating rip-offs in the eighties. That's when he should have stopped, though. "Virtual Weapon" isn't just a bad film, it's downright an embarrassment.
Admittedly, "embarrassment" sounds terrible - and the film honestly is terrible, make no mistake - but it's quite a hilarious viewing experience if you're in the right mood! Margheriti was 67 at the time, but he has the directing skills of a young amateur and is far too old to tell stories about cyber criminality. The script by Bruno Corbucci (Sergio's lesser talented brother) is a hopelessly lamentable attempt to imitate typically 90s success formulas, like buddy action/comedies, virtual reality and cyberspace. Margheriti and Corbucci probably wanted to make something like "The Net" or "Johnny Mnemonic", but most of all they were jealous of the "Lethal Weapon" franchise. It's beyond pitiable how Terence Hill (too old and utterly miscast) and (not-so-) Marvelous Marvin Hagler aspire to be Riggs and Murtaugh. The action footage is beyond astounding, and not in a good way. In 1997, great special effects and stunts were being accomplished all over the world, but this film still works with miniature car crashes and "high tech" IT-equipment from the early 80s. Well done, guys! And, just when you think it can't get any worse, Hill's character gets trapped a videogame.
