Superargo and the Faceless Giants

A hero IS nothing but a sandwich! Especially when a guy in black tights can't show off his boldness and super strength like every other comic book marvel! I'm glad I caught this obscure superhero film on late-night TV, though. In fact, SUPERARGO would have been, at the very least, a camp classic had it been aired on MST3K. It's quite a shock that movies were actually getting better by 1967, but still, this atrocious experience in crimefighting offers the "BIFF!"s, "WHAM!"s, "SOCK!"s, and "POW!"s in a distorted array of action-packed excitement. A horde of "faceless giants" goes after our demented hero, and nails them down with fists, only to make the movie look terrible. And where did the story go? If this is the kind of originality you'd expect for a movie like SUPERARGO, you'd probably think the actor wearing a red suit would've done the same like Popeye The Sailor. But this is a superhero-style movie, and it has a small hint of visual effects. It's a pity that it's no better than the famous legends of Batman & Company. Until the final round comes, this flick's gonna be knocked out cold in a matter of a first few minutes! Give it a shot if you desperately love movies without good taste.

Superargo, retired pro wrestler, is a costumed super hero who has mastered the arts of ESP and levitation with the help of guru sidekick, Kamir. Here's he's called on to stop an evil mad scientist and his army of faceless giants from world domination. In actuality, the army is of cheezy looking robots who have faces and are reasonably sized, not giant, but either way, must be defeated.

So, this is a terrible movie, but it's soundly in the so bad, it's good category. It's preposterous, but kind of fun if you'll allow yourself. It's certainly not a hard watch and has a certain charm that comes with the right kind of dumb, bad movie.

Much like Prince of Space, The Pumaman, or Supersonic Man, the unintentional humor is worth the watch. I had a few laugh out loud moments watching this. The jokes write themselves.

SUPERARGO AND THE FACELESS GIANTS opens with a wrestling match, featuring a man with so much body hair, he could be used to scour the Statue of Liberty! When a wrestler is abducted, it's part of an organized athlete-seizing plot.

Enter wrestler / crimefighter, Superargo (Ken Wood) and his companion, Kamir (Aldo Sambrell), who are in the middle of "psychic training", when they're called upon to get to the bottom of this fiendish scheme. It appears that an army of robots are involved, and are robbing banks as well.

Filled to bursting with boffo fight scenes, groovy gadgets, and woo-woo sound effects, this is must-see viewing for lovers of the bizarre and endearingly antiquated. So, slip your brain into the nearest jar, and prepare to be utterly entertained!

EXTRA CREDIT FOR: #1- The splendiferous robots! They pre-date their Borg brethren by several decades! #2- Superargo himself, who is a cross between Batman, The Phantom, and Santo! #3- The fantabulous theme music! You'll be making up your own dance moves for days / weeks to come!...

It's a shame when reviewers, like the other one reviewing this film here, can't provide you with anything but weak metaphors and banal banter.

Superargo is an ex-wrestler. He quit the sport in the first film, Superargo vs. Diabolicus, after accidentally killing an opponent. In this sequel, Superargo has altered his mask some but still keeps the bulletproof red tights.

He's also taken up studies in Eastern mysticism, with the aid of his new sidekick, Kamir (Aldo Sambrell who later went on to star in many Spaghetti Westerns and had the main role opposite Burt Reynolds in 'Navajo Joe' two years prior).

There had been a rash of crimes involving major athletes being accosted and kidnapped.Usually by a group of 'faceless giants.' The giants aren't faceless, just have stockings over their faces. And they aren't giants either. Actually most are shorter than Superargo.

The government calls Superargo in to find out who operates the robotic men and stop them. Things go awry and it plays out much like a spy film. In fact, the superhero genre in Italy in the late 60's was a direct descendant of the spy genre which petered out about '67 or '68 itself. See also The Fantastic Argoman and the previous Superargo film.

There are hokey bits of comic book indulgence, but as a film collector and fan, I enjoy Superargo and the Faceless Giants. I recommend seeing it, even if it's just once on late-night television.

Many find the movie boring, and while some parts do tend to drag on, such as the chase through the woods, it isn't nearly as bad as, say, everything Jerry Bruckheimer has made.

Maybe if you are a teenager who likes superhero movies, you will also like this production. It's an Italian film with actors whose names have changed from Italian names to American-looking names, stupid fashion in the '60s. The only one who didn't have to change his name is Guy Madison, who is really American. The film "is related" to "Argoman the Fantastic Superman Original title: Come rubare la corona d'Inghilterra" (1967), but it's a little bit better. Not as good as "Danger: Diabolik Original title: Diabolik" (1968), with which it also has points in common. The action is super predictable and childish, as in many other genre films. The main hero, with a black mask on his eyes and dressed in a red suit molded on his body, looks embarrassing. Watch it only if you have nothing better to do!