The Retaliator

The Retaliator, aka. Programmed to Kill (1987) starring Robert Ginty, Sandahl Bergman

Synopsis of The Retaliator

A female, middle eastern, terrorist is captured by the CIA in Greece after an attack on a marketplace. Transported back to the USA, the terrorist undergoes an operation. She is transformed into a cybernetic killing machine. Now the CIA have a secret weapon to send back to the Middle East …. But how long can they control her?

Review of The Retaliator

In short, The Retaliator is an average movie – at best.  The basic plot has the American government capture a Middle Eastern terrorist (Sandahl Bergman)  named Samira. And do experiments on her. The experiments lie somewhere between The Six Million Dollar Man and Frankenstein.  They make her into a cyborg, replacing her “frontal lobe with circuitry.”  Seriously.  So she now supposedly has no personality, retains her skills, and becomes the perfect assassin.  Until she gets her memory back and goes on a roaring rampage of revenge.

She starts killing the various people who were involved in her transformation, leaving the agent who captured her (Robert Ginty) for last.  The agent has his own problems.  He’s been cut loose by the CIA, his wife wants him to retire so that they can have a normal life. But Samira has other plans.

The acting’s average, the pace is slow, it’s rated R, and the movie’s average at best.  I rate The Retaliator 2 stars out of 5.

Cast of characters in The Retaliator

• Sandahl Bergman, Red Sonja – the evil terrorist Samira.  She becomes a puppet cyborg, who goes on a revenge mission against the people who did this to her.
• Robert Ginty, The Exterminator – the independent agent that the CIA sends on his “last mission” to stop a terrorist, and captures Samira. While recovering from his injuries, his wife makes it clear that she wants him to retire, so they and their son can have a normal life.  Then Samira raises her evil head again …