Los autómatas de la muerte

What could have been a passable low-budget superhero adventure is marred by interminable pacing. A nightclub romance subplot (and accompanying musical numbers) brings the action to a screeching halt three or four times. The songs aren't bad but would be more appropriate in a Bing Crosby or Abbott and Costello style comedy.

On the other hand, there is an intimidating villain with a master plan and a cool lair, a giggling dwarf sidekick, a shambling squad of 8-foot lab creations that look as if they needed to bake in the oven a few more minutes, and some decent fight scenes. It just takes too long to get to them. The hero needs more screen time, the ingenue less.

The quick pitch: Masked luchador and superhero Neutron must do battle with the mad Dr. Caronte and his band of zombie-like creatures if he is to save the world from a neutron bomb.

You just gotta love these 60s-era lucha movies! I readily admit that Neutron the Atomic Superman vs the Death Robots isn't a good movie by any normal standards. Neutron comes across a bit like the poor, red-headed stepchild of the better known Santo films. Everything about the movie - acting, sets, lighting, special effects, direction, pacing, cinematography, script, fight choreography - it all scrapes the bottom of the proverbial barrell. And to make things even worse, the movie features some of the worst dubbing I've ever heard. It sounds like you took the dialogue and converted it into about a dozen languages before you finally hit on English. It's pretty poor. But despite all that, Neutron the Atomic Superman vs the Death Robots is just bizarre enough and just fun enough to make it worth watching. From Dr. Caronte's over-the-top pronouncements to the ridiculous way the bomb is planted at the airport to the silly looking death robots to the unibrowed mini-me named Nick, there's something to be seen and experienced around most every corner.

I watched this film under the title, Neutron the Atomic Superman vs The Death Robots! Now that is a title! Too bad there really aren't any death robots and the Superman of the piece isn't really all that awesome. I have seen other movies featuring wrestlers turned superhero and Neutron may have the best name, but alas, he is not the most super. I mean Super Argo could levitate! Santo fought actual vampires! This guy gets outwitted by a little dude who can barely walk and has a unibrow named Nick...

The story to this film leads me to believe this was a sequel as they keep talking about how the bad guy perished as people who look disinterested stare at a television newscast. Well he is not dead and he will soon bring terror upon the world! Well, he pretty much makes Nick do everything leading me to believe he would have been victorious had he, himself, did the footwork as he could have gotten done much faster. Neutron the mysterious superhero who really is not all that super will do what he can to defeat the evil guy while a professor who is constantly saved by Neutron keeps wondering who Neutron really is as he must be one of the three guys who courts this lady at a nightclub...or is he?

The thing about most of these luchador films is that it is kind of hard to do a story around them as they do not take off their masks so you really cannot develop the character beyond him in costume. Instead, you get three dudes courting a lady who may or may not be Neutron that adds little to the plot of an evil guy and his faithful henchman, Nick. So the film is a bit shallow, but so funny to watch!

So, the title really brings a lot of cool things to mind, but never mind that as we get a wrestler who always looks uncomfortable sucking in to make himself look really buff fighting things that are more reminiscent of zombies and do not resemble robots in any way, though they do cause death from time to time. The highlight though has to be the final fight where the hero and villain stop fighting in one location and do a car chase to another place and promptly resume their fight...

Of course, this is ridiculous. Lotsa fisticuffs and running up and down stairs, with cops, giant zombies, and a bare-chested superhero who looks suspiciously like a Mexican lucha libre competitor in full overhead mask. There's a pretty cool cartoonish mad scientist lab, full of all the bubbling flasks and flashing electric arcs you could ever want, along with the requisite evil little resident igor, some pretty feeble flamethrowers on a no-budget budget, and 4 beautiful musical numbers in a pointless subplot that has no business being here. Dig the overdramatic score.

Totally mindless fun.

This is apparently the third Neutron-film and in this our masked marvel, Neutron, is fighting his archenemy, the evil Dr. Caronte (who survived the 2nd movie). With the help of three brains, a dwarf and some vampire zombies Caronte is planning to take over the world, of course, by creating a neutronbomb! I don't know if Neutron was a big rival to the mighty Santo in the 60's, he's shorter and not that convincing in the "fight scenes" but he sure know how flex his muscles! It's campy, juvenile fun and Caronte's dwarf-sidekick has to be seen (and heard!). Enjoy!