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SOLO
Rating: 
USA. 1996.
Director – Norberto Barba, Screenplay – David L. Corley, Based on the Novel Weapon by Robert Mason, Producers – Joseph Newton Cohen & John Flock, Photography – Christopher Walling, Music – Christopher Franke, Digital Visual Effects – Cinesite (Supervisor – Brad Kuehn), Special Effects Supervisor – Federico Farfan, Robotic/Makeup Effects – Image Animation (Designer – Gary J. Tunnicliffe), Production Design – Markus Canter. Production Company – Triumph Films/Orpheus Films/Van Peebles Films.
Cast:
Mario Van Peebles (Solo), William Sadler (Colonel Frank Madden), Adrien Brody (Dr Bill Stewart), Barry Corbin (General Clyde Haynes), Abraham Verduzco (Miguel), Seidy Lopez (Agela)
Plot: The military android Solo is sent into action to blow up a South American rebel airstrip. But it refuses to detonate the explosives because its programming to protect innocent lives prevents it from killing the enslaved peasant labour as well. The military demand that Solo be reprogrammed. Realizing this countermands its self-protection imperative, Solo escapes and seeks refuge among the peasants. Pursued by a ruthless and out-of-control colonel, it helps the natives stand up to their rebel enslavers while also discovering what it means to be human.
This is a thoroughly routine variation on the standard cyborg/android amok/discovering humanity story. It contains no real distinction or believability over any other film in the genre. The only minor points of note is that it has a larger budget than the average effort in this subgenre, which allows a higher degree of onscreen action carnage than usual, and that, reversing the trend of other films such as Eve of Destruction (1991) and the Project Shadowchaser (1992) and sequels, the amok military android is actually the hero rather than the central threat of the film. A somewhat more convincing version of the same plot arc was conducted a couple of years later with the much bigger-budgeted Soldier (1998).
The part of the blank emotionless android seems quite appropriately suited to Mario Van Peebles’ minimal acting talents – the scenes of he discovering his humanity are terribly mawkish. William Sadler gets into the villainous role with considerable relish, although the script fails to offer any real motivation for his obsessive and out-of-control behaviour.
Copyright Richard Scheib 1999-2012
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