Rayma - A brave
member of the science patrol who volunteers to be built into a super-powered cyborg called Infra-Man!
In his infra-form, Rayma can defy the laws of physics and deliver devastating laser attacks
and kung-fu moves against his foes. At one point, Infra-Man even grows to enormous size to
battle a giant monster! There is nothing he can't do! "Infra-Man is Power!"
Professor Chang - The leader of the science patrol and the scientific genius who
creates Infra-Man. Professor Chang is a brave man that will do anything to ensure the safety of his
daughter and the human race!
Princess Dragon Mom - A ten-thousand year old reptilian monarch that has awakened
to take over the Earth. Though her weapon of choice is an electrified whip, she can change into a
large flying lizard that spits laser beams! She is defeated by Infra-Man and his patented THUNDERBALL FISTS!
Mei Mei - Professor Chang's cute daughter. She gets kidnaped later in the film
so that Infra-Man and the science patrol have an excuse to invade the lair of Princess Dragon Mom!
Chu Ming - Once a proud and honest member of the science patrol, he becomes an unwilling
slave to Princess Dragon Mom after he's captured and brain-washed. After faithfully serving
the Princess, Chu Ming is dropped into a fiery pit to serve as an example to Professor Chang.
Xiaolong - Bruce Le! One of most popular Bruce Lee impersonators of all time
joins in the battle against Princess Dragon Mom's legion of monsters!
Nemesis - A giant lump of blue-modeling clay with a bad attitude. This weird-looking
beastie is one of Princess Dragon Mom's main henchmen and he sports a drill on one arm and a big metal
claw on the other. He gets "the boot" from Infra-Man and turns into a pile of burning rubbish.
She-Demon - Princess Dragon Mom's right-hand woman. This ee-vil henchwoman has an eye
on each of her palms, both of which can fire laser beams! (Craziness!) Both of her hands are lopped
off by Infra-Man, mere seconds before he throws She-Demon into a pit of hellfire!
(Note: From this point on, I'm taking the names given to Princess
Dragon Mom's monsters by the folks at Good Times Home Video. Man, some of these names are lame as hell!)
"The Octopus Mutant" - This creature is like a genetic cross between Bob
Marley and a green bean. This strange-looking plant monster attacks Science HQ, and is the
first monster that Infra-Man destroys!
"The Giant Beetle Monster" - A big, orange-colored insect-like creature that can
spit acid bombs and trap foes in cocoons. After getting whomped on by Infra-Man, this creature ups the ante
by growing to enormous size. Infra-Man follows suit and crushes this bug monster... literally! ("Got bug problems? Call Infra-Man!")
"The Laser Horn Monster" - A giddy goblin-like creature that shoots laser beams
from the two horns on top of its head. It gets into a laser battle with Infra-Man and gets toasted.
"The Emperor of Doom" - This creature seems to be the bastard child of Hulk Hogan
and a Chinese dragon. This fire-breathing monster is deep fried by Infra-Man.
"The Iron-Fists Robots" - Ok this name sucks so bad that I'm referring to this
tag-team as the "Slinky-bots" from now on. Their heads and mace-like fists can launch out to attack
foes and spring right back into place, thanks to their patented Slinky technology! Both are disassembled
by Infra-Man!
Princess Dragon Mom's Skeletal Warriors - The kung-fu fodder of the film. There's
a lot of these guys to go around, and they prove to be pretty decent fighters, but in the end,
their sheer numbers (and explosive spears) aren't nearly enough to stop Infra-Man and the science patrol.
In 1974, the Shaw Brothers (Run Run Shaw and Run Me Shaw... hahahaha! Awesome names!)
teamed with Hammer Films and made the first ever horror/kung-fu movie: Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.
It's a very fun and offbeat movie that tinkers with the vampire mythos (a lot) and showcases
some awesome kung-fu battles. A year after this film, the brothers Shaw, inspired by the likes of
Ultraman and Kamen Rider decided
to try their hand at making a tokusatsu movie of their own. The result of
their toils was Infra-Man, a wildly bizarre
sci-fi/martial arts extravaganza!
Infra-Man kicks into gear almost immediately
after the opening credits end. As a school bus full of happy, singing, children makes its way along
a mountain road, a giant flying creature suddenly flies overhead. The winged-lizard lands just ahead of the
bus and vanishes while simultaneously causing the road to crumble and fall into a deep chasm. The kids all
escape but the bus driver isn't so lucky, and ends up taking a thrill ride down into an ever-widening ravine.
Meanwhile, random explosions and fire have ravaged the rest of the area near Mt. Devil, and the
Chinese government and its beloved Science Patrol are trying to save lives and bring some order to
the chaos.
Meanwhile, back at Science Patrol HQ, Professor Chang has just arrived and quickly busies himself
with reading computer printouts. As the folks at SPHQ scramble to figure out what's going on, Chang uses
the giant radar dish on top of his building to catch the latest American reality TV shows. (Just kidding!) Actually
he takes a peek (via radar) of Mt. Devil and soon comes face to face with Princess Dragon Mom! (HAHAHAHA! Coolest villainess name ever!)
She plans on conquering the Earth with her army of monsters and claims that Chang, the science patrol, and
all of Earth's armies are useless against her! To combat this new threat to the world, Professor Chang
seeks out a volunteer and chooses Rayma to become the guinea pig for a new experiment.
Chang is no fool and realizes that to beat Princess Dragon Mom, humanity will need a powerful weapon.
His plan is to build a bionic superhero called Infra-Man that will be more than powerful enough
to fight off any and all attackers, be they man or monster. As Chang starts his work on Rayma,
the impatient Princess sends her first monster to attack, namely the "Octopus Mutant." This giant
"green-bean from Hell" buries itself at the base of Science Patrol Headquarters and sprouts into a group
of giant vines. The vines burst inside the science center and begin wrecking machinery and tossing
science patrol's silver jumpsuit-clad employees around. The attack briefly interrupts Chang's work,
but he perseveres and completes Infra-Man in the nick-of-time!
Once the experiment is completed, Rayma becomes a bug-eyed humanoid capable of gravity-defying leaps
and is armed with an endless arsenal of weapons and special abilities. He chops down the attacking vines outside
of Science Patrol HQ and then battles one-on-one with the goofy plant creature. Their fight continues from the
parking lot of SPHQ and into the nearby forest where Infra-Man soundly defeats the green rubber-suited menace!
In the meantime Science Patrol member Chu Ming is driving down a dark and lonely road in his little
beat up Volkswagen "bug." (Wait huh?! He drives a foreign car, and crappy one at that! I guess the
Science Patrol doesn't pay much? If they did, Chu Ming would probably be cruising in a Honda or
a Suzuki... or something!) Chu Ming cruises along slowly, when his junky car is suddenly
attacked by Nemesis!
Chu Ming escapes before his car is flipped over and runs into the woods for safety. Seconds after he
hides in some bushes, he gets bopped on the head by Nemesis and carried off to Mt. Devil. Once there,
Chu Ming is brainwashed and forced by Princess Dragon Mom to sneak into Science Patrol HQ and take
photos of Infra-Man's blueprints. Chu Ming does as he's commanded and succeeds, but Xiaolong pursues Chu Ming to a desolate and rocky
area full of skeletal warriors, led by the mighty "Pre-giant Beetle Monster." Xiaolong holds his
own (he is Bruce Le after all) but gets trapped in a bubble-like cacoon. Luckily for him,
Rayma and a dozen other Science Patrol martial artists arrive on motorcycles and a kung-fu battle
begins.
In the heat of battle Rayma turns into Infra-Man and starts kicking some booty, when suddenly the
"Laser Horn Monster" shows up. Infra-Man takes a laser blast to the face and falls into a nearby lake.
The "Laser Horn Monster" begins showering the lake with laser beams in an attempt to destroy Infra-Man
who continuously pops up in different spots to keep his trollish foe off guard. Infra-Man eventually
tires of playing "whack a mole" and destroys his horned foe with a quick laser blast. With yet another
goofy monster out of the way, Infra-Man returns to the main battle and clobbers the Beetle Monster.
In a rage, the stout orange man-bug grows to an enormous size, and wouldn't you know it, Infra-Man can
do that too!
A brief giant monster battle ensues with Infra-Man coming out on top. Though Princess Dragon Mom
is angered that's she's lot two more of her monsters, she's pleased to see that Chu Ming managed
to return with Infra-Man's blueprints. She studies them and discovers that Infra-Man's hands are
his weakest point, but that "weakness" is rendered obsolete because once Infra-Man returns to HQ,
Professor Chang presents his bionic creation with a new weapon: THUNDERBALL FISTS! Along with his
newly constructed "Infra-Blades," Rayma is now officially invincible! After presenting Rayma
with his new toys, Chang returns home to rest and spend a little quality time with his daughter.
Chang has a brief chat with her and they share a mushy father-daughter moment before he decides to
go back to headquarters to do some extra planning for an invasion of Mt. Devil. Moments after Chang
leaves, the power goes out in the house and Nemesis suddenly bursts through the living room wall
and captures Chang's daughter. The following day, Princess Dragon Mom contacts Science Patrol HQ
and demands that Chang come alone to Mt. Devil if he wants to see his daughter alive ever again!
Chang complies and is escorted to Princess Dragon Mom's base on a large speed-boat full of skeletal
warriors. Once inside, Chang undergoes an empty threat session and is
later (literally) put on ice with his daughter after he refuses to build a new Infra-Man for the Princess.
In the meantime, Rayma has ridden a motorcycle into the realm of Princess Dragon Mom and soon
begins battling an army of kung-fu skeletal warriors that are armed with explosive spears! Things
get tougher as Nemesis joins in the melee, but heat is taken off of Rayma when Xiaolong and the
rest of the science patrol arrive on the scene to kick some ass! Rayma continues onward to the entrance
of Princess Dragon Mom's base and ends up battling both Nemesis and "The Emperor of Doom!" Rayma
fights well, but his puny human punches and kicks barely faze the monsters, so he turns into Infra-Man!
At this moment, Princess Dragon Mom decides to send out a black cloud of dust to block the sun
because she thinks that's how Infra-Man derives his power. (WHAT?!) This is completely useless because
us viewers that paid attention know full well that Infra-Man is powered by a mini-nuclear power
cell inside Science Patrol HQ!
Infra-Man makes short work of both monsters after another well-choreographed battle and back flips his
way into Princess Dragon Mom's hideout. Infra-Man is captured in the entrance with a "tractor beam" of
some sort, and then dropped through a trap door into a pit of molten lava (where Chu Ming was dumped not too long ago... poor guy).
Infra-Man of course escapes this death trap and begins trashing Princess Dragon Mom's throne room, and her
skeletal guards. He also manages to kill She-Demon and fight off the whip-wielding Dragon Mom, giving him
enough time to use his X-ray vision to seek out his frozen creator. Infra-Man discovers the icy cell
that Chang and his daughter are in, and attempts to save them. He probably would have succeeded in doing so, had
it not been for the SLINKY-BOTS!
Another battle royale starts up with Infra-Man battling the "Slinky-Bots," more skeletal henchmen, and
Princess Dragon Mom. Once again, Infra-Man is more than they can handle, so Princess Dragon Mom blasts
him with a frigid ice beam and turns Infra-Man into a large snow-cone. But our hero is crafty and
uses an array of missiles to thaw himself out and take out several skeleton-costumed foes. Instead
of realizing that Infra-Man can't be beaten, the attack on the bug-eyed hero recommences and soon
the only one left is Princess Dragon Mom. She proves to be nearly unkillable until Infra-Man puts
his THUNDERBALL FISTS to use.
With a quick blast from his THUNDERBALL FISTS, Princes Dragon Mom
disintegrates, ending her brief and ridiculous reign of terror. Of course, with the Princess gone, the entire base within Mt. Devil begins to crumble and collapse.
With no time to lose, Infra-Man blasts open the icy cell of Professor Chang and his daughter, and the three of
them make a hasty retreat out of the mountain base, and they barely escape before the whole
place comes down. Afterwards, Chang, Rayma, Mei Mei and the surviving
members of the science patrol, pack onto Princess Dragon Mom's personal luxury speed-boat and
head back home. Humanity is now once again safe thanks to the efforts of the world's newest super-hero,
INFRA-MAN!
Film Review: Infra-Man is
one of many films that I fell in love with when I was a child. I remember first seeing it at a Blockbuster
Video where it stood alongside a number of Godzilla films as well as Legend of the Dinosaurs.
(Ah... memories...) After I watched the movie once, I was hooked, and I rented it several times afterwards. Sadly Infra-Man and all those other
wonderful films eventually disappeared from the rental store's shelves. It would be nearly a dozen
years until I'd get my hands on my very own copy of Infra-Man,
and the day it finally came in the mail was one of the better days in my ongoing life.
Infra-Man is probably one of the most memorable
movies to come from the Shaw Broters studios and is my own personal favorite. (Though truthfully I've
only seen a handful of their films.) The effects in this movie are delightfully cheesy and I couldn't help but love the animated laser effects, the use of fireworks
as weapons, and of course, the battle between men in goofy, rubber monster suits! (Plus we even
get a few laughable wire stunts tossed into the mix that add to the movie's campiness!) The film's
plot is pretty thin and you don't learn much about any of the characters, but that's not why you'd
watch a movie called Infra-Man, is it? No my friends,
the reason to watch this movie is for the kung-fu battles, and that's one thing that Infra-Man
delivers by the truckload!
The fights between Infra-Man and his enemy monsters are well-done, considering that the actors
were all in bulky monster suits, and the fighters all put on an awesome show! You'd figure that
Danny Lee (who played Rayma/Infra-Man) would be tripping and falling all over the place, but his
performance within the Infra-Man suit is astounding. He moves with a speed and grace
that deserves a standing ovation! Another thing that really had me in stitches during the film
were the sound effects! I can't really describe them here, but I can assure you that you'll be mimicking
the insane "choing! choing! cho-o-ing!" sound effects long after you've seen the film. Without
the insane sound effects, this movie wouldn't have been half as entertaining!
I really have no complaints about Infra-Man,
and I love this film dearly, but I would like to know one thing: How the hell did Princess Dragon Mom,
come up with the notion that Infra-Man was solar-powered?! For one thing this theory made no sense
(unless she was looking as some re-eally old blueprints) and it's all quickly forgotten once
the plan fails. Anyway, this movie is a blast to watch, and I can't recommend it enough. Just make
sure you turn your brain off before watching so you can truly enjoy the crazy spectacle that is,
Infra-Man!
So how radioactive is this sci-fi, chop-sockey flick?
Geiger Counter Reading:
- FOUR 'RADS' -
WARNING: This movie is very radioactive! If you're looking to introduce a friend
to the Shaw Brothers kung-fu universe, this is a good place to start!
After watching this flick, they'll wish they had THUNDERBALL FISTS!
DVD Review: Infra-Man is now available
on DVD and Image Entertainment has done a fine job with the disc. Released as Super Inframan,
the movie comes in a plastic keepcase, with an attractive cardboard slipcover. The film has been restored
from the original negatives and the 2.35:1 widescreen transfer looks beautiful. The disc offers
the original Mandarin soundtrack (with good English subtitles) in Dolby Digital 5.1 as well as an English-dubbed audio
track (in 5.1 or mono, both of which are a bit rough). The disc's special features are made up of
an image gallery, liner notes from Asian film experts Damon Foster and August Ragone, the original theatrical trailer
for Super Inframan, as well as a huge collection
of trailers for various other Shaw Bros films. Lastly, the DVD contains an interview with the director
that can be accessed via the DVD-ROM drive on your computer. All in all, this is a good release,
and is definitely worth picking up. Infra-Man
must be seen by all!
Chu Ming: "Sir. There's another report.
It says that Mt. Devil has erupted. Ten thousand people dead."
Professor Chang: "Oh? Hmmm... it's weird... that volcano has been dead for a thousand years. Why should it erupt now? Unless... there's..."
(Reviewer's Note: Hahaha! The Professor doesn't even bat an eye after
he hears the death toll, and furthermore, worries more about why the volcano erupted than
he does about saving human lives! What a heartless bastard!)
Princess Dragon Mom: "Condition his memory, blend it with a scientific intelligence, increase
reception, and eradicate resistance!"
(Reviewer's Note: Princess Dragon Mom barks these orders to She-Demon
as she brainwashes poor Chu Ming. Man this is a fun line to say. Seriously, read it over a few
times, then say it out loud with your best mad scientist voice. I think I may use this line in my
wedding vows later on down the road!)
Professor Chang: "For success, it's essential that you have THUNDERBALL FISTS!"
Rayma: "I can have such a thing?"
Professor Chang: "That's right! THUNDERBALL FISTS!"
(Reviewer's Note: Yes you too can have THUNDERBALL FISTS, just give up
your body to science, plus mail in three easy payments of $99.95 to Science Patrol HQ!)
- Beginning - Woohoo! Seizure-inducing opening titles!
- 0:49 - Oh this must be the "Monsters of Infra-Man" video calendar that I ordered!
- 3:54 - Oh the humanity! A flaming dummy leaps to its death!
- 9:29 - Hahahaha! Princess Dragon Mom?! Are you kidding me?!
- 12:09 - Hahaha! Man I miss the olden days when scientists took over executive powers in times of crisis.
- 28:09 - Rayma becomes... INFRA-MAN!
- 29:00 - Damn it Rayma! Stop trashing Professor Cheng's lab!
- 31:18 - Hahahahaha! The Octopus Mutant's monster suit opens up in the back for a split second.
- 46:09 - Infra-Man nukes the "Laser-Horn Monster."
- 47:34 - WOOHOO! INFRA-MAN KAIJU BIG BATTLE!
- 48:38 - Infra-Orkin-Man!
- 57:35 - Infra-Man gets some upgrades. (THUNDERBALL FISTS and INFRA-BLADES!)
- 71:00 - Woohoo! The cavalry's here! "Now everyone's kung-fu fi-ighting!"
- 73:22 - Was that scene in slow motion or did I just see a bad wire stunt?
- 79:36 - Skeletal henchmen + boiling water = KABOOM!
- 87:15 - Infra-Man defeats the Slinky-bots!
- 90:00 - I'm totally diggin' this cool "Infra-Impossible" theme music!
- 90:20 - THE END.
Recommended Viewing:
- The Shaw Brothers
built up a library of nearly a thousand martial arts films. Some of the more popular and better
known Shaw Brothers films are One Armed Swordsman
, The Five Deadly Venoms,
their Hammer co-production of Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, Master Killer (starring Gordon Lui),
and Master of the Flying Guillotine! For more
information on Shaw Brothers studios, their most popular actors and actresses, and a list of
their greatest films, visit the Shaw Brothers Wikipedia Page!
Infra-Man was made in response to Japan's
never-ending series of tokusatsu films and TV shows, including Ultraman
and Kamen Rider! Since the late 60s and early
70s, many other variations of these characters have appeared in TV and film. Other transforming
superheroes have also appeared, such as: Spectreman, Zone Fighter,
Mirror Man, and many more! And if you enjoy
Infra-Man then definitely check out The Guyver
and The Guyver 2: Dark Hero. Both
films are about a young man that turns into a bio-mechanical warrior to battle monsters!
Bruce Le had a small supporting role in Infra-Man
but went on to impersonate the greatest and most recognizable martial artist in history: Bruce Lee.
Some of his most notable "Lee" performances include, Fists of Fury 2,
The Clones of Bruce Lee, Re-enter the Dragon,
and Return of Fists of Fury! Bruce Le carried on
the legacy of the man he was imitating and eventually retired when the Bruce-sploitation genre
lost steam.
Useless Trivia:
.
"Xialong" means "Little Dragon" in Mandarin Chinese, which coincidentally was the real Bruce Lee's nickname!
Infra-Man is allegedly China's first ever
superhero! It is also said that this film was the first to ever by storyboarded by the Shaw Brothers!
Several sources have claimed that Infra-Man
was actually three episodes of a (failed?) TV show that were edited together.
When the film was distributed by Joseph Brenner Associated Inc.,
the names of all the characters were changed when the movie was dubbed in English. Princess Dragon Mom is actually
named "Demon Princess Elzebub," Rayma is actually "Lei Ma," and so on.
Infra-Man was ranked as the seventh
best superhero film of all time by MSN Movies, just below X-Men,
Batman Returns, Spider-Man,
The Incredibles, Superman II,
and Darkman!
LEAVE YOUR OWN COMMENTS ABOUT THIS MOVIE IN...
And feel free to e-mail me at vault_master[at]bmoviefilmvault[dot]com if you have any
questions, personal recommendations, or information about the films reviewed here on the site! Don't be shy! Your
feedback helps make The Vault better!
Review posted on September 8, 2006.
(Review last updated on December 17, 2007.)
|
