Purely Joyful Movie!

I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A scientist working on a top secret experiment is killed in an explosion but the corporation that funds his experiments transforms him into a robot.A resurrection science fiction film that despite being a B-low budget affair has a grander 80's film quality feel thanks to some gritty, raw and rough round the edges special effects. Richard Cox and Pam Grier are watchable and some performances are above average. However, they are counter balanced by what should have been better supporting actors. Edith Rey and David Preston's dialogue is sometimes flawed, yet their story fairs better exploring some moral dilemmas.Although it predates Robocop (1987) I remember the main draw to watch it was because of The Terminator (1984). That said, the Vindicator shares more with Frankenstein and the Wraith (1986).Jean-Claude Lord's Vindicator was of its day. It has some nice visual moments. The certain charm it held in my mind since 1986 was mostly warm nostalgia - as on revisiting The Vindicator it's not as fast paced as I remembered it.While fun at the time, in retrospect it's for comparable curiosity only.

The Vindicator start as ARC, Aerospace Research Corporation, research scientist Carl Lehman (David McIlwraith) is killed in a laboratory explosion after he confronts his corrupt boss Alex Whyte (Richard Cox) about missing money. Carl's pregnant wife Lauren (Teri Austin) is devastated but thinks that's the end of the matter, however Alex & several other ARC scientists pool their research in order to create a living cybernetic robot that contains Carl's brain that is intended to explore Mars. Unfortunately the remote control device is disconnected from Carl & manages to escape the research facility & contacts Lauren, enraged about what has been done to him by his fellow scientists Carl decides to use his almost limitless strength & robotic power to take revenge on those who did this to him. Meanwhile Whyte calls in Hunter (Pam Grier) an assassin to cover the mess & bodies left behind as well as track Carl down & bring him in...This American Canadian co-production was directed by Jean-Claude Lord who had previously made the Canadian slasher Visiting Hours (1982) & is still directing even now, anyway this being the first of January 2010 The Vindicator is in fact not only the first film of 2010 that I have seen but the first film of the new decade & while it's not a bad way to kick start my exploitation viewing for the next ten years I wouldn't exactly call it a classic. The Vindicator is a pretty obscure film & one I would actually like to know more about in terms of it's production since the IMDb lists a release date of 1986 but the copyright date on the credits says 1984 (I think & the IMDb itself lists the production date as from October 1984 to November 1985) & it was originally called Frankenstein '88 until the huge success of The Terminator (1984) which probably made Twentieth Century Fox pick it for distribution & release it theatrically in the US & certainly influenced the change of title to The Vindicator which sounds a lot like The Terminator doesn't it? As far as the film itself goes you can clearly see that The Vindicator was a modern take on the Frankenstein story, several character's refer to Frankenstein by name & the idea of saving someone's brain & transplanting it is taken directly from Frankenstein. At 90 odd minutes in length it has a good pace, it moves along quickly enough, there are one or two memorable scenes especially the fiery first appearance of the Vindicator & it has a certain sleazy seriousness to it, there are a couple of minor plot twists & overall it's an entertaining piece of sci-fi action horror that is strangely obscure & not that well known. Of course the film isn't perfect, using the guy's brain who you have just murdered seems like a foolish idea, there's no real logical reason as to why Carl is programmed to kill or destroy anything that even touches him or why he makes a silly bleep bleep noise when he's in rage mode & there's no explanation given at the end as to how Whyte manages to become a cyborg in the space of ten minutes with no help from anyone.There's a real early 80's vibe going on here with the fashions, laboratory equipment & decor but it has a level of seriousness that sort of works & it hasn't dated too badly everything considered. I quite liked the casio keyboard synthesiser music too with loads of chimes going on in the background. The effects are pretty good, the robot suit looks a bit clunky at times & a bit too much like plastic but it looks alright & the unmasking scene in the Church is cool as he reveals his face beneath the mask which has no lips or upper skull & his brain is visible. There's some gore like a needle through someones throat & some action scenes including several exploding cars, it's just a shame the action scenes aren't staged that well. There's also an unpleasant sexual assault which almost certainly was the footage that the BBFC cut from the UK tape back when it was released over here. The film feels a lot like Robocop (1987) & the same sorts of themes & ideas are present in both although The Vindicator was shot at least a few years before. Maybe I am just thinking out loud here or guessing but around 1980 an adaptation of Frankenstein was announced to be directed by legendary Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg (even as far as advance ads appearing in magazines) but it ultimately never got made & I am wondering if The Vindicator is what that project eventually turned into, I mean the Frankenstein themes are there & Pierre David was involved in both as a producer.A lot of reviews comment on this being low budget but with a budget of almost $4,500,000 back in the early eighties this was probably quite well funded for the time. The end credits list Montréal as it's filming location. The acting is OK with Pam Grier the only real recognisable name in the cast.The Vindicator is a film I liked, I liked the modern (80's anyway) updating of the classic Frankenstein themes & thought it was a good little sci-fi horror film with some good action. Sure, it isn't any sort of masterpiece but I think most exploitation fans will be happy with this largely ignored & forgotten effort.

Scientist Carl Lehman(David McIlwraith),working on a special type of NASA space suit, demands to know why his funding has been cut off by colleague Alex Whyte(Richard Cox), threatening to expose his secret project. Whyte has a number of scientists devoted to a project which would create cybernetic humans, offering the possibility of eternal life. The catch..Whyte would have a remote which could order them to do what ever he so chooses, quite a wealth of power at his command. So, Whyte has scientist Ian(Stephen Mendel)set poor Carl up to be severely burned by a nuclear reactor, his body used as the first prototype for the super-powerful cybernetic man..a BIG mistake, because Carl is able to break free, his remote control mechanism unattached, leaving the facility, and out to endanger potential innocent lives because the single touch onto his body causes a negative hostile reaction that's fatal to the one responsible. Carl's brain still contains memories and certain feelings for his beloved wife, Lauren(Teri Austin), and anger/hostility for those who ruined his life forever. Whyte is quite worried that he'll spoil his future success and calls in an exterminator, Hunter(Pam Grier)who has "never lost to a man", a cold-blooded assassin that will eliminate anyone that may've witnessed something they shouldn't have. Carl believes his only ally, besides Lauren, is a fellow co-worker, Burt(Maury Chaykin), but even he might not be the friend he always though he was.I'm a big fan of "human cyborg" films, contributed to my formidable teenage years watching popular sci-fi actioners, ROBOCOP & THE TERMINATOR, and I do believe THE VINDICATOR will appeal specifically to this crowd. The film also is a mad scientist movie as well with Cox well cast as the determined ARC industries boss yearning for the kind of universal control his project might eventually produce(..by controlling the cybernetic human, whose strength is a phenomenal asset, Whyte sees the unlimited potential for power). The true casting choice that will provide an allure for THE VINDICATOR is Pam Grier as a vicious killer who will snap the neck(..or put a long, thin needle all the way through young female witness' throat)of a woman who provides a threat to her employer's company without a second thought. McIlwraith is only seen for a minimum of five or so minutes before Whyte has him terminated, his eyes providing us with the only method to judge his feelings when his cyborg body goes into attack alert(..when he's touched by anything, an alert sounds off, beating faster and faster before trouble starts for those that antagonize him)..or when he takes his face guard/helmet off to reveal his scarred visage, reflected to his horror from a pool of water or store shop window. Those familiar with Maury Chaykin know that his characters are often never to be trusted, even when his Burt consoles Lauren(..actually Burt is lustfully obsessed with her, and his attempted rape/strangling of her is really disturbing).No doubt, Whyte's team of scientists(..and his bounty hunter)are an assortment of ruthless, vile dreamers, willing to go to any lengths for their own success. That's what makes Carl's revenge so sweet. The 80's, interesting enough, featured films like these where revenge was so satisfying because the hero's opposition were such foul cretins worthy of the most violent death possible. The death toll here isn't extravagant, and the violence isn't as graphic as in ROBOCOP or TOTAL RECALL, but I think THE VINDICATOR has enough elements to please sci-fi buffs. A good point was made elsewhere regarding this movie coming before ROBOCOP so it shouldn't be labeled as a rip-off. Carl's robotic suit of armor(..after the golden NASA suit is burned away), in a bit of cool trivia, was made by Stan Winston's studio.

Ok, it's not "craptacular", I just wanted to use the line. I just don't know what the other reviewers are raving about, as this is just not GOOD. The movie does have great special effects and acting, IN COMPARISON to 80's sci-fi Canadian efforts. However, they don't stand up when compared to other films of the same time in the same genre (and Canadian science fiction in the 80's is kind of a narrow field anyway, right?) Even animated films like Akira beat it. Budget-conscious editing and production is apparent but forgivable, as the crew did do a great job with the money given to them (probably the loose change out of George Lucas' wallet). The performances give what is demanded of them, undoubtedly, but the movie has a plot as see-through as the (very bizarre) goop the main character gets trapped in. I'm not saying it's a bad movie, but it's not good either. It's certainly nothing to build Canadian sci-fi around (we still have someone named David Cronenberg), and if Atom Egoyan ever put his massive brain into this genre we'd get something really wonderful. In short, go rent it, give it a shot. It won't live up to the fantastic title, but you might enjoy it for what it is. An 80's Canadian sci-fi movie.