This curious precursor to 'RoboCop' stars David McIlwraith as a scientist turned into a cyborg after being seriously injured in an explosion. While the film lacks Paul Verhoeven's dark sense of humour, it features well crafted action scenes, great makeup effects (beneath the mask), an awesome body suit and lots of fascinating pseudoscience with McIlwraith working in a laboratory experimenting with rage control. The film also prods a bit into the personal identity crisis he faces after realising that he has become a cyborg; "I don't know what I am", he emotionally states at one point. Verhoeven would of course prod into such territory in further depth, but there is enough here to render 'The Vindicator' less a simple revenge thriller and more a resonating character drama. An interesting plot element is how he has been redesigned to kill any human beings who touch him, which leads to some complexities as he tries to reconnect with his wife (who has been told that he died in the explosion). Not everything quite adds up here with one character inexplicably transforming into a mindless sex maniac at one point to further the plot (!), but it is a pretty classy affair that stands up well if not judged alongside 'RoboCop'. The budget here was of course far more modest, and yet the filmmakers create some excellent set pieces; a sewer segment is especially eerie.
Review of The Vindicator
