Non-Horror Exploitation: Vendetta dal Futuro (A.K.A. Hands of Steel) (1986)

In the 80's the Italians pretty much ripped off any American film that made a few bucks so it shouldn't come as a surprise that they ripped off The Terminator as well. In 1984 James Cameron brought you The Terminator. Two years later Sergio Martino, who is most known for his giallo's from the 70's, brought us Vendetta dal Futuro (A.K.A. Hands of Steel).

Sinister industrialist Francis Turner, played by John Saxon, creates a cyborg known as Paco Queruak (Daniel Greene) who has been programmed to terminate the leader of an ecological faction that stands in the way of the dystopian country in which the story is set. After failing in his mission to eliminate the ecologist, Paco flees to Arizona where he must face his opponents; and ultimately choose between his humanity and robotic natures. 

In Hands of Steel Paco, played by Daniel Greene, is a cyborg who suddenly starts to feel human a bit more in stead of just a programmed machine. After a botched assassination he flees from the FBI and his own evil creators finds a place in the middle of the desert, runned by Linda where he can stay. Daniel Greene has got some big arms and does a decent job portraying the cyborg, although he's never great or really impressive. George Eastman, who portrays a truck driver/armwrestler with a huge ego, however is. Eastman really freshens things up with his lively performance and  his awesome one-liners. 

The soundtrack by Claudio Simonetti is used a lot in Hands of Steel which is great. Simonetti created an awesome catchy, cheesy score that will stay in you head for quite a while. The action scenes are decent, although never really great. It's mostly Simonetti's score that does the trick. That score would even make a game of chess look like an epic battle with explosions and guns. 

Obviously there are a few things that could have been done better. For example there is a very sentimental love story between Paco and Linda which really wasn't necessary, it made things a bit too cheesy. There are also a couple of ridiculously cheesy scene's where Paco meets a female cyborg and a scene where John Saxon chases Paco with an oversized lasergun. 

Overall Hands of Steel is an incredibly entertaining film that will definitely get you though a rainy Sunday. Enjoy the cheesy fights, awesome one-liners, George Eastman's role and above all: Claudio Simonetti's score.

(not so)Fun Facts (Source: IMDB)

Co-star Claudio Cassinelli died in a helicopter crash during filming in Arizona. 

 John Saxon, strictly adhering to Screen Actors Guild rules, refused to act in any scenes shot in America (all his scenes were shot in Italy) as this was not a union film. He credits SAG with saving his life as otherwise he would have likely been on the helicopter that crashed claiming the life of his co-star Claudio Cassinelli and has not violated any SAG guidelines since.