Supersonic Man (1979)

Powerful

Absolutely the worst movie.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

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

Valiant and noble alien superhero Supersonic Man (brawny lunk Jose Luis Ayestaran) has to stop evil arch villain Dr. Gulik (a gloriously hammy portrayal by Cameron Mitchell) from taking over the planet as well as rescue his girlfriend Patricia (fetching brunette Diana Polakov) from Gulik's vile clutches.Man, does this hilariously horrendous honey possess all the right wrong stuff to qualify as a real four-star stinkeroonie: Ham-fisted (mis)direction by Juan Piquer Simon (who also co-wrote the idiotic script), a meandering narrative, shoddy (far from) special effects, a clunky box-like robot that looks like it stumbled off the set of a third-rate 1930's serial, cruddy dubbing (even Mitchell's voice is badly dubbed by another actor!), ineptly staged action set pieces, strained attempts at moronic humor (the comic relief drunk guy is especially annoying), a robust cornball score, lousy acting, and a sluggish pace that moves more slowly than an elderly tortoise on Quaaludes. A total schlocky riot.

I would never have watched this film, I like low budget old horror and action films but not superhero films unless it's a superhero I have heard of. The only reason why I watched this is because it was riffed (made fun of with ongoing jokes while the film plays) by Rifftrax. This is now available on Hulu which is where I watched it. I see the DVD package is marketing this as a "superspoof" meaning it was made as a comedy. This is inaccurate, it was made as a Superman rip off. It does have a comedic character in it with about 4 bits, the last being the most funny, but this was made as a straight superhero film. As such, it's horrible, but to it's credit, it's horrible enough to be funny. Cameron Mitchell plays the bad guy, he's horrible and the only American actor in this. The dialog is horrible with a lot of repetition, example, Join me, no I will not, Join me, No I will not, on and on and on. The highlights were the cr' appy robot and the Italian lead actor who looks like Alain Delon a little. Also, call me crazy but I'm pretty sure they used Cameron Mitchell in the final scene as the old professor in the hospital, I guess that scene was ad libbed to wrap it up and the Spanish actor had already passed in real life? I watched this riffed and the Rifftrax guys made me laugh out loud at least a half dozen times. 1 star for this as a film you paid to watch in the theater, 6 stars if you are watching this to mock it, 7 stars as a Rifftrax feature. BTW, I thought at first this was an Italian production but learned it's from Spain which has made me realize that in the hierarchy of bad cinema that the Spanish may have the Italians beat. If you are looking for a more enjoyable bad Euro superhero flick from this time, check out The Pumaman, it is available in riffed (Mystery Science Theater 3000) and non riffed versions, both are funny and much more entertaining then Supersonic Man.

A Spanish ripoff of the original Superman movie, the movie is cool for the first two minutes while the exposition for all of this is formed. Then, it happens: the music. The tinny, cheesy music. Then the obviously FAKE blue-screen work that shows our hero as flying through space. Then the movie falls apart as good FX work (laserblasts) and bad FX (the Puma Man flying sequences..no lie!) mishmash together with inadequate dubbing and Cameron 'Mitchel' (?) laughing like his helium was too concentrated. However, the stinger for this episode is when Supersonic Man decides to lift up a bulldozer and, thanks to the amazing art of editing, is shown to pick up this horribly fake particleboard recreation of a bulldozer. It's not even painted well to cover up this shoddy job. Then the regular viewer will lose all respect and this movie will go back to the comedy section of your local Hollywood Video and lay there until Hell freezes over. But if you are a lover of bad movies, this one is a must. If you loved 'Puma Man,' this is FAR more entertaining. Go knock yourself out. The costume of Supersonic Man is quite interesting, unlike the rest of this movie.

...if you're a lover of bad cinema. From the horrible credit sequence which desperately tries to copy SUPERMAN, to the super cheesy flying sequences, to scenes of hero lifting up things like an incredibly fake looking, wooden (yes, wooden) bulldozer, director J.P. Simon delivers the goods yet again! The man who brought you PIECES and SLUGS doesn't disappoint. If you have no life, viewing this film is a must!!!