Lucifer Complex (1978)

Cast:

Robert "I'm not always the villain or the slimy guy..." Vaughn is Glen Manning
Merrie Lynn Ross is April Adams
Keenan "Alonzo Hawk from the Disney Medville comedies" Wynn
Aldo Ray

What the box says:

An intelligence agent is set off to investigate events surrounding some the world's leaders and he comes to a shocking discovery. A plot by former Nazi scientists to clone the world's leaders, in order to return the Third Reich to power, has been undertaken and he must try to stop them from completing their evil plans. Tracking down the headquarters of the Nazi scientists brings another surprise to the agent, when he uncovers the madman ultimately behind the sinister plot.

Plot:

The narrator wanders around his island before returning to his underground computer lab. It holds records of all of humanity's history from World War 1, 1960s music, and the Vietnam War. Apparently, in 1986, Nazism rose again to start the Great War.

A bus full of world dignitaries are gassed out. Elsewhere, secret agent Glenn Manning is at a bar when told that the bus hasn't yet arrived. He starts looking for itin the restricted zone and is caught. His boss chews him out and reveals the diginitaries have returned and only claimed it was a flat tire.

Glenn is sent of a secret mission and infilitrates into a small country. He finds an Nazi internment camp and is chased by the guards.

Later, Doctor Vogle tells Glenn about how he was found delirious and the Nazi camp was some sort of hallucination. A few hours later, an axe-wielding Alice runs into Glenn's room. She's reveals that hte Nazis are behind things. Vogle and the nurses take her away.

Glenn escapes his room and examines the facilities. A number of human sized tubes filled with people are one of the first thing he discovers. Seraching he takes April with him. Guards chase and recapture them.

A general explains how they will clone a Fourth Reich but still need some information from Glenn. Dr. Vogle revelas they'll clone Hitler. Glenn overpowers him and escapes.

Meanwhile, the general's aide is searching for those that helped April escape. These prisoners finish the aide and get loaded to attack the guards.

Glenn and April reach a tank(the general's souveneir from WW2). Let the explosions ensue.

The escaped women are chasing the Nazis, and the tank keeps roaming around the camp.

Glenn and April force the general to take them to the Hitler clone. Glenn shoots him but the clone disappears. Suddenly, Glen has to fight an evil Glenn-clone. Well, good Robert Vaughn wins hopefully...

Glenn runs into another room and shoots the Hitler-clone and learns that his boss was behind all of this scheme. Evil boss activates some sort of water-raising device to flood the coastal areas. Glenn and April run off to escape the island.

The narrator explains that the island was destroyed. The evil boss had clones and destroyed opposite sides. The narrator decides to explore more of his island.

What I say:

The movie does seem dis-jointed with the narrator popping up numerous times throughout the movie more like some sort of hero-type... It takes 20 minutes or so before getting to the heroic Robert Vaughn. First, the pseudo-omniscient narrator extolls how he holds data records of the the world history before going off on how the dangers of technology destroyed the world. Too many times, the narrator of this type just keeps rattling on and on of how if people had just let the "pacifistic love" in, it wouldn't have happened and that he's also the greatest human for his love of 1960s peace moviement...

Most of the time when a movie has some character watching the action is just a way to pad the movie's run time... Well, don't worry, the narrator isn't the only problem, especially at the end when Keenan Wynn pops up as the evil mastermind who activates some sort of mad-scientist weapon to raise the world's water levels. Unfortunately, the super-villain should have rattled-off with his "monologuing" explanation of the entire plot.

Robert Vaughn has almost absolutely played the slimy rich guy during the last couple of decades. Hard to remember he has done some more heroic roles like the Man From UNCLE or one of the Magnificent Seven. He's playing a spy that looks like James Bond after about 15 years of hard spying with plenty of the shaking and stirring. He and the April run off and there's not the obligatory James Bond spy ending of letting the lovin' ensue.

The idea of evil scientists wanting to either bring back the Third Reich or clone their leader back in Flesh Feast or (They Saved Hitler's Brain adapted from) Madmen on Madoras. After, the clones are destroyed, we're told that evil mastermind had more evil clones. Great, the whole lame movie ending that had no justification for it to happen just does. Imagine if Star Wars ended with Luke Skywalker able to destroy the the Death Star but seeing another Death Star orbiting around the Yavin moon and destroying it... Well, take that kind of ending without special effects and just hearing some narrator saying something like "well, the world was ruined because of all those bad people, and I'm taking break now..."

This is one of worst movies I've found in quite some time. How can a movie be told if it is bad? One could rattle off certain directors or actors as possible excuses. If a movie was made to be released theatrically and for some reason gets held back for 2 years before being finally released as a TV-movie, That's a pretty good reason not to put in a top 10 of best movies... Well, thankfully, it doesn't pass the low-bar of Massacre.

Quotable Dialogue
"Make yourself at home, my friend."
"I think you could do with a little less bomp and lot more grind."
"We will get the information we want."
"Can you handle a tank?"
Morals of the Story
Data can easily be stored on crystals the size of matchheads after the final war.
Hippies love rock and roll.
Bellydancers are soldiers.
Fire-axes should be easily available for prisoners in secret-guarded facilities.