The Pumaman (1980) User Reviews (103)

So bad it's great

[petra_ste · 2/10 · 23 May 2007]

Bad news is: it's awful. Good news: it's hilarious. When I watched it I was howling with laughter for most of its running time.

The Puma Man has to be the most ridiculous superhero ever seen. In this uproarious origin story, milquetoast Tony Farms meets Vadinho, Aztec shaman with the unusual habit of defenestrating people to find a superpowered individual able to fly. Together, hero and sidekick face villain Kobra (a badly slumming Donald Pleasence), who controls a powerful ancient relic.

The funniest scenes occur when the Puma Man uses his powers and flies (why should a *Puma* Man be able to fly, I cannot say) with an exceptionally cheesy visual effect and a ludicrously inappropriate heroic music, and also when he is repeatedly saved by his strangely competent sidekick, who seems to be vastly more proficient at fighting criminals and saving the world. One has to wonder why Vadinho bothered to find the Puma Man at all.

This one deserves a 1/10, but laughs redeem it to an extent.

2/10

you are the worse puma man ever

[lfstry · 1/10 · 3 September 2005]

"You are the worst I have ever seen, but you are the Pumaman."

-- Vadinho

Flying over Stonehenge, a UFO drops off a magical golden mask. A voice-over alien promises that the mask will be protected by his son, and his sons after him. They will be man-gods; blessed with the infinite powers of the puma (a Puma-man, if you will).

Naturally, any device of great power must eventually fall into the wrong hands. Quicker than you can say Warrior Queen, the mask falls into the evil hands of Kobras (Donald Pleasance!). He discovers that the mask can control the human mind (not unlike Pabst Blue Ribbon), which can be very helpful when wanting to take over the world.

Unfortunately, plans for world domination are cut short when alien hieroglyphics reveal that the mask is protected. Any NE'ER-do-well who attempts to use it for evil will fall to a grisly demise by Pumaman.

So logically, Kobras must eliminate the mask's guardian. But how does one go about finding a Pumaman?

Easy. By throwing random men out skyscraper windows. If they splat, they're obviously not Pumaman.

So Kobras and his goons spend lazy summer afternoons tossing random men out skyscraper windows. On the other side of town, Vadinho, native shaman and friend to all Pumamen, does his part in finding the man-god. Not wanting to break from the tried-and-true method, he too tosses random men out skyscraper windows.

Vadinho soon comes across Tony Farms, a paleontologist working at a local museum. After Tony survives his window toss, Vadinho runs up to him, tells him he's a Pumaman, and disappears. He's just mysterious like that.

(This later segues into the obligatory: "I'm not a Pumaman" and "You are a Pumaman!" conflict, but let's skip it.)

Unfortunately, Vadinho isn't the only one who discovers Farms' hidden gift. Kobras sets his sights on the heroic paleontologist, for once the Pumaman is out of the way, nothing can stop him from taking over - the world!!! (Pronounced "verld" with an echo effect to increase menace.)

This review is part of Secret Santa, the latest B-Masters' round table. Lyz, of And You Call Yourself A Scientist! fame, drew my name. I must admit that she went fairly easy on me. Out of mercy? Charity? Who knows? Pumaman isn't a good film, but it's not that painful, either.

The acting is sub-par, but that's to be expected. Besides, Donald Pleasance is always a treat. He hams like none other: The beady eyes. The emotionless line delivery. The shiny pate. As a director, you can't go wrong with big Don.

But you can go wrong with Walter George Alton. It's nothing personal. Considering the material, he does just fine. But why get Gary Busey when you can just as easily hire Nick Nolte? Meaning, Alton wants to be Dirk Benedict so bad he can just taste it. Fresh off Battlestar Galactica, Dirk could've brought some star-power punch to the production. Or was Donald Pleasance supposed to provide the ratings' draw?

There was lots of action; fighting and what-not. I'm not talking about fancy-Schuman's wire work or characters freezing in mid-air while a bullet flies between their legs. Apparently, Pumaman likes to mix the power of B. A. Baracus with the unorthodox dork-FUD of William Shatner. We get some thug tossing (across cars, into walls, but sadly, not into dumpsters) along with a dabble of "In real life, that would've never connected." Things like Pumaman falling between the legs of an attacker, then kicking him in the chest. With the lightning speed of, say, Jackie Chan, I might be able to accept this feat. With the clumsiness of Walter George Alton, however, it proves a bit harder to swallow. And if you're going to pay homage to Shatner, everyone knows you have to throw in a weak chop to the back of the neck. It's a staple.

Perhaps a chop to the back of the neck would've prevented Our Hero from being made a fool of by Donald Pleasance. Pumaman beats on a dozen bad guys without breaking a sweat, only to be out-muscled by Donald Pleasance in the film's finale? Suspending disbelief, I can accept Pleasance as a criminal mastermind. But he's just a little too doughy to be slapping around a man-god. Unless that man-god happened to be Corey Haim.

----

• Vadinho is a proud member of The Temple of the God Who Came From Other Worlds. If any organization was in desperate need of an acronym, this would be it.

• Hypnosis through shaky cam! Why spend lots of money on special effects? We'll just screw with camera lens. Nobody will know the deference.

• Pumaman spends a great deal of time flying and looking. Flying. Then looking. Then back to flying. Nothing is more exciting than bad blue-screen flight interrupted by periodic pauses to look around. It truly completes the effect.

• I can understand having a protector for a mask that could enslave the world, but it begs the question: Why bother dropping the mask off in the first place?

• The stirring love theme from Pumaman.

• Pumaman, as the name implies, is blessed with all the wondrous powers of a puma, which include:

The power of flight. The power to tear steel and crumble bricks with your bare hands. The power to telnet (I have a great story about this puma that deleted into my grandmother's bathroom in Wyoming, but for the sake of brevity, I'll refrain). The power to see in the dark. The power to punch guys really hard (my grandma was punched by said puma, but again, we should probably skip it).

-- Copyright © 2001 by J. Bannerman

You will believe a puma can fly....

[Mister-6 · 3/10 · 26 February 2001]

Puma Man - who is he? Why is he here? Where did he come from? Why is he a manic-depressive?

All of these questions - or at least most - can be answered by watching "L'uomo puma" (or "Puma Man", as I know it). Made (solely) to cash in on the "Superman" craze, this comes in at just barely more tolerable than "The Indian Superman" (never seen that one? Check out "Stomp Tokyo").

Seems Aztec priest Vadinho ("an onion?") is throwing guys out of high-rise windows all over London to see which one is a super hero. Well, if there's no better way to find out.... Then he comes upon college professor Tony Farms (Alton, whom you probably haven't seen since those old "dry look" commercials), who survives a three-story fall quite nicely. Vadinho then bestows a magic belt on him that grants Tony the heroic powers of a puma.

Okay...stop there. Comparison time. Tony jumps, pumas jump. Tony claws things, pumas claw things. Tony flies, pumas.... Aah, there, SEE? Of course, if a puma was going through the air, it would probably flail its limbs all around and have its butt up the air, too.

Anyway, Tony's first assignment: stop the evil Kobras (Pleasance!!) from taking over the world by staring at people through an aluminum foil mask and controlling their minds with papier-mache mock-ups of their heads (poor representations, too), and while wearing leather S&M suits or silver nehru jackets. Oh Donald, what were you thinking? "Paycheck", no doubt.

Everything here suggests the film-makers were trying to attain the lofty heights of "Superman"; but this group doesn't even get close to "Super Mario Brothers" territory.

Love the disco soundtrack, though, as well as the special FX (no more special than back projection technology) and that perplexed look Donald Pleasance has on his face throughout the film. Maybe he was expecting Steve McQueen to drop by and help him escape?

At any rate, MST3K is the safest, least harmful way to witness the disaster that is "Puma Man". For certain, Mike and the robots supply the best dialogue (favorite - "Couldn't control me bladder - sorry, mate!")

Three stars for "L'uomo puma" (for sheer joy in its stupidity), and ten stars for the MST3K version.

Catch it, just to see what puts the "poo" in "Puma Man".

"You cannot escape me!"

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 3 September 2009]

As I've said before, you've just got to love those wacky Italians and some of their wacky cinematic "achievements". The Puma Man (or The Pumaman as the title card indicates) tells the story of Professor Tony Farms (Walter George Alton) who reluctantly accepts his superhero birthright. A direct descendant of extraterrestrials, he is given the power of the puma (Until I watched this movie, I had no idea that pumas could fly? Who knew?) so that he might defend the secrets of the Aztecs. One of those secrets, a golden mask that grants its possessor the power of mind control, has been stolen by the evil Kobras (Donald Pleasance). With his Aztec guide Vadinho (Miguel Angel Fuentes), The Puma Man must put a stop to Kobras' plans of world domination.

It might be screwy, but I can't help but enjoy parts of The Puma Man. The movie comes across like a twisted, no-budget mix of Superman and the U.S. television series "The Greatest American Hero". From the superhero costume that includes brown slacks straight off the rack at Sears to the poorly done rear projection special effects to the repetitive (but admittedly catchy) Casio keyboard soundtrack to the Christmas ornament-like space ship, it's obvious that the budget on The Puma Man was less that what I spent on dinner last night. But the odd thing is, regardless of how cheap looking most of the movie is, it's got a charm to it that money can't buy. And while that doesn't necessarily make The Puma Man a great movie or anything, on occasion the movie overcomes its many faults (or it might be because of these faults) and is often quite fun. The acting isn't much to write home about. Pleasance proves he could be a scene-chewer without equal. His insistence on pronouncing "puma" as "pyuma" is hysterical. Our would-be hero, Alton, is generally ineffectual. The female lead, played by Sydne Rome, while reasonably attractive, doesn't display much in the way of acting skills either. Still, given the material they're given to work with, the entire cast is serviceable. But probably the best thing I can say about The Puma Man is that it's not dull. In fact, it's well paced and generally entertaining throughout its runtime. And as I've argued so many times, entertainment is the single most important thing to me when watching movies.

Compared with most everyone else on IMDb, my rating for The Puma Man sticks out like a sore thumb. Maybe I enjoy it for all the wrong reasons, but whatever it is, I do enjoy it.

"When you want the flavor of bacon in a dip"

[MikeRobb · 29 October 2000]

Pumaman has got to be one of the worst superheroes of all time. His "costume" consists of a shirt with a Aztec happy face on it, a pair of Abercrombie and Finch cargo pants, cheap pleather cowboy boots, the WWF Hardcore Championship belt (the only thing that's "hardcore" about this loser), and a fey red cape. He flies at about the same speed as the Goodyear Blimp, he can rip the top of a Jaguar but has a hard time wrestling a sixtyish fat man to the ground, he can teleport, but only to places he has been before (such as his friend's firetruck(?)), and his theme song sounds like a commercial for a personal injury attourney. Worse, he has a hulking mongoloid with a Moe Howard haircut following him around doing all his dirty work, like getting beat up by bad guys or tying Pumaman up during one of his many suicide attempts. In the same vein, the "villian", Donald Pleasance, has one of the worst evil schemes of all time: taking over the world by staring at manniquen heads through a mask mounted on a pole. Other idioic characters include Pumaman's mouth-breathing girlfriend (why she wears a leather flying helmet is beyond me) and a whole army of thugs as cannon fodder for this wuss and his Aztec. ONLY watch this on MST3K!

Not Crap Enough

[Bezenby · 4/10 · 3 March 2019]

Puma

man, when he finally gets around to being Pumaman, looks like he got his outfit from Primark's 'Sensible Gentleman' section and attached a cape to it. He also displays the natural talents of a Puma. You know, like seeing in infra-red, passing through walls, and flying. If you start thinking about why aliens and pumas are linked and why Donald Pleasance can somehow take over people's minds using a gold mask from South America attached to what looks like a tricycle, you are going to end up having a stroke.

"It looks bad, and not good bad," my wife remarked while heading to our indoor pool manned by Joe Dallesandro look-a-likes. After watching it, I tend to agree to a certain extent. Pumaman has a reputation as a bad movie. Donald Pleasence said it was the worst film he starred in. Alberto De Martino says it was the worst film he ever made. Are there laughs to be had? Let's see.

After a demented introduction about how aliens contacted the Aztecs and made the first Pumaman, we switch to Donald Pleasence who has this gold mask that he's using to take over people's mind. He won't to control the world and only Pumaman can stop him, if only he knew who he was. This leads to various Americans in London being thrown out of windows before some mystic good guy tracks down the real Pumaman. I can't be bothered looking up what his character's name was.

New Pumaman has to learn to be Pumaman and is reluctant to fly about the place looking like a complete moron but eventually he does, and the effects really do look like someone hung Pumaman from a hook attached to his arse, then used the worst blue-screen effects in the world. And they use it in about 50% of the film. He can also go in and out of walls, something he seems to forget when chasing Donald Pleasence later in the film.

Donald's gold mask/mind control set up is pretty crap too. Once he grabs someone's mind, a rubber head of theirs appear on a shelf and then Donald commands it through the gold mask. This looks worse that it sounds, as the visual effect for communication seems to be wobbling a bit of sheet metal with the rubber head reflected on it. Truly dire. There are some laughs to be had by this, but apart from amatuer fist fights, Pumaman arguing with his mentor, really bad romantic scenes with Sydne Rome, and the constant nose-bleed inducing flying sequences, the best bit for me was when I realised that ten minutes of the film had begun to repeat itself, leading to a blissful moment where I fast forwarded the film, therefore reducing the running time.

viva la pumaman!

[kellybob · 3/10 · 23 May 2002]

Ah, this movie is a blast. What is Donald Pleasance doing here? And why does he keep mispronouncing "puma?" It is a one star movie, but I upped it a couple of points because it is so entertaining. The main character is more like Tiggerman than Pumaman, unless bouncing is what pumas do best. He is undeserving of superherodom. He whines incessantly and has to have his Aztec (yes, I said Aztec) Boy Wonder bail him out. Still, the cheesy special effects, music and bad acting elevate the film into kitsch and there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

The spirit of Ed Wood lives on!

[sinister_prog · 2/10 · 31 July 2007]

A bunch of Aztec aliens make a tremendous navigation error in a giant flying humbug, in a deep north American accent, deposit a mind-controlling mask on what appears to be Stonehenge, England, now with a nice coastal view. To look after this, the fabled "Puma man" (constantly miss-pronounced, rather aptly, as "poo-ma man" ) is entrusted to prevent it from falling into evil hands. Alas, a team of archaeologists in bondage gear find the mask and set off on world domination.

Need I go on? Nothing in this movie makes sense. Who cares if the hero's sidekick pushed a bunch of Americans to their deaths for no obvious reason! Poo-ma man's powers include dangling in front of London's skyline, posing like a squirrel and leaping around with 80's synthesized "boing" noises, and walking through walls - all the abilities you would expect from your average south-American feral wildcat.

Oh what's the point of going on. This movie is so bad, it bounces off the bottom depths of the chasm of suckness back up into the realms of inadvertent hysteria. Cue 80's disco music and, "Poo- ma man, he flies like a mor-on!"

So bad, it's plain bad

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 18 October 2016]

I'll be the first to admit that I'm no big fan of superhero movies. Their inherent silliness never has appealed to me – and I'm not too hot on comics either. So I approached THE PUMA MAN with some trepidation, knowing it was probably going to be cheesy nonsense...but I honestly had no idea the film would be THIS bad. This isn't so-bad-it's-good in the way that a Turkish or Mexican superhero flick is. This is just plain nonsense, an appalling rip-off of SUPERMAN that makes no sense from beginning to end.

Miscast Walter George Alton – a lawyer in real life, he sure ain't an actor – is the young, good looking, square jawed American hero. As the film progresses, he discovers that he's next in a long line of Puma Men, heroes with extraterrestrial powers who combat evil. Now, when I heard his name, I wrongly assumed that he'd have the power to turn into a puma, or perhaps to summon one to his side, a la Beastmaster. How wrong I was! Does he then have powers akin to a big cat, such as running at incredible speeds? Wrong again. It turns out that the Puma Man possesses super strength (a given) and has the ability to fly – just like Superman. So what on earth does that have to do with pumas? This is just one plot hole in a film absolutely chock full of them. Think too much and the story just falls apart, so it's best to watch this one with the brain switched off. The opening of the film sees the good and bad guys alike tossing random people out of windows to see whether they can fly – a method that reminded me of the tried-and-trusted 'witch dunking' method of the Middle Ages, where the witches that were innocent ended up drowning.

The film has intermittent action sequences, including more than a few fist fights which are as tacky as those in the '60s BATMAN TV series, except unintentionally so. The special effects include more waxwork heads than you'll find at Madame Tussaud's, as well as some dodgy camera 'pulsing' effects which are often headache-inducing. The absolute nadir of the film are the many 'flying' sequences, utilising back projection, which are simply awful. It's a major problem because the film relies on them so heavily that they appear every few minutes or so.

I'd lost interest long before the film finished, and even the presence of a hammy Donald Pleasence – so far from his HALLOWEEN glory days only two years before – fails to save things. Pleasence essentially reprises his Blofeld role from the James Bond movies, except dressed in a silly black outfit instead. And what's the Death Star doing in this film? George Lucas should have sued. The only other cast members of interest are a hulking henchman, played by Miguel Angel Fuentes, who looks and acts like a bad guy but is actually good, and Sydne Rome as the pretty but vacuous love interest. No matter how funny the concept might sound, in the end THE PUMA MAN is a piece of trash, and a non-entertaining one at that.

"MST 3000" strikes again....

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 6 January 2016]

I pride myself in my knowledge and appreciation of bad films. Back in the late 1970s, Harry Medved wrote an amazingly funny and brilliant book called "The 50 Worst Movies of All Time" and it kicked off the craze to see and appreciate bad films. I actually found and watched all fifty of the films from the book and then went in search for more awful films and decided to try watching IMDb's infamous Bottom 100 list. Not all of them are available and several have no subtitles or dubbing, so I cannot possibly see them all. However, I've seen a huge number of them and have noticed an annoying trend--nearly all the American films on the list were skewered on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and MANY really bad films were never on this show--mostly because they couldn't get the royalties for all the films. Plus, other bad films have come out since the show ended. As a result, many absolutely horrid films NEVER appear on the list even though they are much worse than those featured on "MST 3000"...such as "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "They Saved Hitler's Brain", "Robot Monster", "The Room" and ALL of the films of Larry Buchanan, William Grefe and Ted Mikels! Clearly this list is NOT even close to being the 100 worst films...just the lowest rated and apparently the TV show's fans vote!

So is "Pumaman" worthy of being on this infamous list? Well, not...not at all. Sure, it's bad...but not THAT bad. While the story is silly and the special effects god-awful, there is a certain fun kitschy quality that made it much easier to watch than most bad films.

When the film begins, you hear about some weird Aztec-like cult that has great power--and some baddies want to destroy them and their emissary of goodness, Pumaman. But who is Pumaman? Well, no one really knows as he's soon to be revealed. Unfortunately, the dopey guy in England seems a very unlikely candidate to be a superhero...but he cannot help but believe something is up when he falls out a window yet lands safely on his feet! Soon, an American- Indian believer arrives and announces to the guy that he is Pumaman...and at around same time, so do the baddies who want to destroy him.

The plot is very much like the TV show "Americas Greatest Hero" (which it pre-dated)--with a naive new hero who has a hard time believing and then controlling his super powers...so the idea COULD have worked. Unfortunately, the film appeared to have a budget of about $64.38 when it came to special effects!! The scene where the guy falls out the window is just sad to see...as it is when he is supposedly flying. Heck, back in the 1950s "The Adventures of Superman" had MUCH better superhero effects...so why does it look so terrible in the 1980s?! And why does the musical budget appear to be even smaller--with really cheap and craptastic electronic keyboard effects that become VERY repetitious?! And, why does Donald Pleasance agree again and again to be in crappy films?! After all, he once was a respected actor!

The bottom line is that although this is a crappy and ugly looking film and the writing is occasionally very goofy, there is a grain of something NOT miserable or awful in it as well. No way would I put this in any Bottom 100 or possibly even Bottom 1000 list!

Are pumas also known for their whining?

[Oosterhartbabe · 1/10 · 11 May 2004]

(spoilers) Puma Man....Liberace with Dockers. This guy has to be the biggest puss I've ever encountered as the titular 'hero' of this crappy film. He whines, he snivels, he ineffectively attempts to catch the bad guy and retrieve the Aztec mask...and always he must be saved by the arrival of semi-competent Aztec Man. That is just pathetic. This guy is so useless that he can't defeat DONALD PLEASANCE! Heaven help him if he'd had a REAL bad guy to fight. His flying looks like a really bad try-out for Circus of the Stars. His costume is just jaw dropping. As Crow commented:"HAHAHAHAHA...no, I mean you look great!" That poncho/cape is the worst part of the whole really ugly and stupid outfit. The Greatest American Hero had a much better and more dignified costume in comparison. I must say, they found the perfect girlfriend for him. She made Chrissy Snow(from Three's Company) look like a Harvard grad. Vadinho, in spite of his neanderthal jaw, Prince Valiant haircut, and silly shirt, stole the movie. It was tragic watching him babysit the wussycat...errr...Puma Man, while acting as though he thought Tony was the...errr...Cat's Meow. He was the only part of the movie that wasn't sub-par, and that includes the hideously cheesy special effects(tin foil car roofs, peanut brittle tiles on the house tops, cardboard flooring, a lame mask that looked like it had been surfaced with gold foil from candy wrappers, a 'spaceship' that looks like a Christmas tree ornament, and terrible rear projected flying scenes), the lame soundtrack("soundtrack by my little brother's Casio!"), the yellow tinged color that made it look like the whole movie had been filmed through white wine, and the truly bad costumes(black leather outfits that looked like they bought them second hand from a dominatrix, gold lame nehru jackets, the heroine's amazing collection of headgear, including that flight helmet-and of course, the hero's aforementioned idiot costume) combine to make up a movie that stuns you with its sheer horribleness.

Is there a pumaman

[Umblezi · 10/10 · 31 January 2000]

This movie is perfect in every way. The music is great, especially when pumaman flies. And the way he flies is so realistic, I can't believe this was made in 1980. He has to be the best superhero ever- his flying, his puma vision, and his hands are claws. And Kobras - can you possibly imagine a better villain? His suit alone makes me nervous. And most of all, the acting is superb- the whole film is so lifelike, that sometimes I think there really are pumamen. 10 out of 10, no question.

We Need a Decent Release of This One!

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 30 November 2015]

Low-budget film about a young man given a mystical medallion by an Aztec shaman, in order to become a puma-empowered champion like his father before him. In trying to initially locate the young man, the shaman has the nasty habit of pushing candidates out of windows to test them.

If not for "Mystery Science Theater", this film would probably have been forgotten. As of now (2015), the film was released on VHS, but never DVD. The VHS tapes actually got for a fairly high price online. There must be some kind of a demand.

And, you know, despite being a bad movie, it is a fun bad movie. And many folks (myself included) love Italian horror / fantasy / adventure films. It would be great to see this film released on DVD or even Blu-ray, cleaned up with some sort of information on its creation and the director.

Zuh???

[Emperor-Cupcake · 1/10 · 6 December 2006]

***SPOILERS*** Honestly, this movie is one big, "ZUH?" I can't believe that an alien civilization so evolved as to create man-gods would travel the stars in a Christmas ornament on steroids. Why wasn't the Pumaman Aztec in heritage? How did he end up some whiny, WASPy American ex-pat in London? Whatever.

Knowing they couldn't pull off convincing flying, why have it in the first place? Pumas are fast and graceful big cats, so instead of flying, why not have Pewmaman run with blindingly fast speed? If they wanted to defy the laws of physics, at least do it in a cool way instead of this horrible falling at 45 degree angles.

With some other MST movies I can see potential: a few changes in the scripts, tightening up the plot, better actors, getting the best out of a shoestring budget with brilliant creativity, etc. This? No. Hey...maybe Mel Gibson can remake it since he's on an Aztec kick! In the meantime, Mike and the 'Bots make the Pumaman palatable.

Vadinho, The True Hero

[booster400 · 5 June 2001]

Vadinho, Aztec High Priest, should be the Pumaman, not that idiot Tony Farms. Throughout the movie, Vadinho proves himself worthy of the title of hero. He is the one who knows what is going on most of the time. The only thing Tony (aka Pumaman) does is bounce around and distract the villains. As far as I'm concerned, Tony is as good alive as dead. The only time Tony was ever effective at confusing the villains was when he WAS dead!

Secondly, Vadinho's character is much better than Tony's. Tony is a whiner, crying and sobbing about every little problem. Vadinho, on the other hand, takes each difficulty with pride and grace. Never once does he lose his temper.

Another reason Vadinho should be the Pumaman? He actually believes the religion. I'm surprised Tony even knew of Aztec religion. Vadinho, the HIGH FREAKIN' PRIEST, is not worthy of the title Pumaman, but Mr. Sarcastic American gets it handed to him? I don't think so! I think Mr. Alberto De Martino needs to get a nasty letter for this movie. What does he have against the Aztec?!

Don't mistake bad movies and "nanars" !

[zxgerard · 4/10 · 24 July 2012]

In France, when a movie is so bad he becomes funny (unintentionally, it's important) we call it a "NANAR".

And there's a real audience for this kind of movie (Ed Wood like). These movies are treasures because they become rare. Nowaday, the bad movies have at least decent SFX, decent editing, the directors have all followed a formation... But during the 60-70-80's absolute incompetent directors could make movies. So there is a bunch of them, but a limited bunch, and this one is famous.

So if "Puma man" made me laugh and spent a good time, I must give more than 1 or 2 stars. And I must recommend it.

My favorite quotes :

• Boss ! This man is FLYING like...

• Like ?..

• ... like a PUMA !

(Because, as everybody knows : the pumas fly.) LOL !

;-))

Wow not cool

[ok988 · 1/10 · 21 July 2002]

Pleasance must have been pretty hypnotised to do something this bad. Pumaman is a terrible movie made only cool and livable by the antics of mystery science theater(oh thank you). LOL tossing people out a window to see if they fly what an idea. Woops there goes my little brother(i guess he didnt)

Doesn't deserve at all the hate and its low score

[bellino-angelo2014 · 5/10 · 18 March 2019]

On July 2018 IMDB changed the criteria for inclusions on IMDB's Bottom 100 (the list of the 100 lowest rated movies based on the users' ratings). Now, instead of 1,500 ratings movies must have at least 10,000 ratings for being eligible for this list... making the list more for major releases than for obscure movies of the past like it used to be. And the old Bottom 100 was also full of almost all the movies featured on the TV show MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000. I'll put it straight: the movies were riffed in this show and the folks (including the fans of MST3K) gave lots of scores of 1s assuming that these movies are the worst movies ever made. I actually saw various movies featured in the show and I have to be honest, NOT all of them (including PUMAMAN) are that bad! And this movie, despite its score of 2,2 it's quite enjoyable and funny in its own way.

Is ''Pumaman'' that terrible? No. Now, it's not a GREAT movie, but not a TERRIBLE movie either.

At the beginning we hear about an Aztec-like cult that has Superman-like powers and the villains (led by legendary actor Donald Pleasence) want to destroy it and kill their emissary, the Pumaman. We soon get to know who is the Pumaman, and no one would think of the English paleontologist as a superhero... but he soon begins to suspect of something weird when he is thrown out of a window and lands on his feet safe and sound. Soon a South American believer named Vadinho chases the guy for announcing him that he is the Pumaman and soon this ''super-hero'' tries everything and eventually succedds in defeating the villains and even saves his girl.

So, why this movie doesn't deserve the hate? The plot is very similar to a comic-book based movie, and despite the special effects seem ridicolous and very dated, this is not a major problem. And the very tense soundtrack fits perfectly the movie's 1980s atmosphere.

The bottom line is that while the movie is silly, predictable and with many shortcomings, it's funny and enjoyable and more than a time-passer as well. I would personally NEVER put it in the Bottom 100 as there are many movies worst than this (like ''Manos the Hands of Fate'', ''Beast of Yucca Flats'' and ''Santa Claus Conquers The Martians'').

Puuuuu Ma Man, He flies like a Moor Ron!!!!

[udragon2010 · 1/10 · 19 November 2010]

Wow, just wow. Never see this film without Mike Nelson and and his robot pals, because it is BAD. After re-watching every episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, I decided to start watching some of the movies without the fantastic commentary, and I started with this, the worst superhero movie ever! Catwoman was better than this piece of giant dino dung.

It is a story of love, revenge, mysticism, aliens and a guy named Pumayman...excuse me, Pumaman. A lame and useless professor of paleontology who is the descendant of aliens that protected the Aztecs centuries ago, is chosen by a massive Aztec man to become Pumaman, a lame and useless defender of justice who flies with his butt in the air.

Pumaman must retrieve a golden mask from the kinda, sort-of, menacing Donald Pleasence. Pumaman is equipped with his brains, with which he is in short supply, and the incredible powers of a puma, like super strength, teleportation and flight, because we all know pumas can fly. The aforementioned hulking Aztec guy does more heroic acts protecting Pumaman than Pumaman does in the whole film.

This movie has a lame plot about an evil madman(Pleasence) trying to take over the world, something we all know he would do. Pleasence uses an attractive woman to seduce Pumaman, not realizing he hangs out with a beefy Aztec giant.

Pumayman's Costume: Every Superhero needs a cool costume, and boy, does Pumaman have a great costume. He has a red poncho for a cape, a black horse blanket for a shirt, and what is surely going to become all the rage in superhero uniforms, Kahkis and Tennis Sneakers.

The music of the film seems to have been done using a budget of $8, which was spent wisely on something else. The Fx is better or the same as the FX used in the Indian Superman movie. I cannot begin to tell you how bad this film is. Characters randomly appear and disappear to further drag this film along. You should only watch this film as an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, if you don't, your a glutton for punishment.

The Mighty, Cheesy, Flying and Imbecilic Puma Man!

[Coventry · 4/10 · 13 December 2009]

"The Puma Man" is a gloriously incompetent, cheesy, bizarrely entertaining and totally decadent Superhero Movie knock-off like only those wacky Southern Europeans could make them. Like its Spanish equivalent "Supersonic Man", "The Puma Man" is such an atrociously bad film that you should probably better just avoid it, unless of course you have an eccentric sense of humor or unless you have a weakness for totally bonkers and inept European exploitation cinema from the late 70's/early 80's. Puma Man is presumably the lames superhero in history. First of all, it actually takes an awful long time before the Puma Man – in every day life he's named Professor Tony Farms - discovers and acknowledges that he is, in fact, the Puma Man! His friends and foes are more aware of his powerful capacities than he is and they even have to conduct experiments to convince him; like throwing his ass out of a third storey apartment window only to prove that he will land on his feet. Puma Man's mentor Vadinho, a giant native Indian type of guy who obviously has some oppressed homosexual desires, is undoubtedly a lot stronger and powerful than the superhero himself. He can prevent cars from leaving with his bare hands, for Christ's sake! Why would he need the help of the Puma Man? In fact, this is the only superhero movie where the mentor/sidekick character actually has to do all the important work himself, as the titular hero is always unavailable for some reason. Either he's running away from his responsibilities or he's captured by his nemesis. Since my mates and I spent so much time hysterically laughing at this film, we didn't had the chance to follow much of the actual "plot", but it has something to do with Puma boy and his pal – who's actually an Aztec Priest – trying to prevent the ultra evil Donald Pleasance (who else?) from stealing a golden mask that provides mind controlling power. Speaking of Donald Pleasance… Yup, here he is again in yet another embarrassing supporting role as the mighty and powerful evil genius; a typecast role he's forever associated to ever since depicting the most legendary of all Ernst Stavro Blofelds in the James Bond classic "You Only Live Twice". The plot remains rather vague and evasive regarding what exactly Kobras' wicked intentions are. World domination, I presume, since they all want that, but how exactly is unclear. The Puma Man's superhero outfit is pathetic, with a miserable red cape and a costume that isn't even tight around the crotch like it ought to be. He flies like a hummingbird under alcoholic influence – whoever knew pumas flew, by the way? – and he has the annoying power to spontaneously appear in peoples' cars. That has got to be so dangerous. In case you haven't figured it out yet, "The Puma Man" is a bad and utterly cheesy Italian trash production that should only be endured by the fans of this peculiar type of cinema. There's shabby music, terribly written dialogs, inferior acting performances and a total lack of really exciting action sequences. You'd have to be crazy to even like this film. I love it

Hideously embarrassing trash featuring two clothes-horses masquerading as actors

[lemon_magic · 1/10 · 16 April 2005]

This film seems to be some kind of Italian take/rip-off of the original "Batman" flick. It's obviously not meant to be taken seriously and may be intended for a juvenile audience.

I don't care. I still hate it and everyone associated with it with the burning heat of a thousand suns. The one exception is Donald Pleasance, who is forced to wear a patent leather super villain suit and who, between this film and "Warrior Of The Lost World", is obviously paying some kind of self-imposed penance for his sins. Donald, wouldn't a hair shirt and a cat-o-nine-tails be easier???

The biggest flaw is the casting of the romantic leads. Walter what's-his-face and Synde Rome comprise perhaps the stiffest,least believable romantic couple ever to appear on screen. They are much, much worse than the Rent-A-Center Andy Garcia and the lock-jawed ESL European blond from "Werewolf"; they are even an order of magnitude worse than Punch SideIron and the Grandma-Daughter from "Space Munity". As far as I can tell, there is absolutely no reason for them to "fall in love" (or whatever it is they're doing) except for their both being Barbie Doll fashion models and as shallow as a "WhiteOut" mark. Their romantic dialog and byplay lies there on screen like a steaming turd on a linen tablecloth. I could still almost forgive the film, if this was all that was wrong with it, but...

I would almost talk myself out of despising the film and everyone in it after a romantic scene was done, and then Puma Man would take to the skies in flight footage that made the flying scenes in the "Superman" TV show look like the climactic Death Star Trench Run from Episode IV.

I would almost be able to stop actively wishing for the death of everyone in the film after a flight scene, and then a fight scene would break out and Puma Man would make little claws with his fingers and float around the scene at the speed of a golf cart, or kick someone with the pointed toe of a Capezio loafer.

I would almost able to stop jabbing pins into my Puma Man Voodoo Doll after a fight scene, and then Walter would open his mouth and whine some more.

And every time I calmed down enough to stop hanging Walter in effigy, once he stopped talking, the Casio soundtrack would start up and make me wish for death.

Really, really, really bad. The MST3K take on it is hilarious, but this is a turkey shoot for them, there is so much to jab fun at. Do NOT watch this film without MST3K protection!

Worst movie ever made in the history of movies

[leafsrule911 · 1/10 · 20 December 1999]

I can't believe that I'm not the only person who's ever seen this movie. It is the lamest excuss for entertainment in history. The worst thing is that I actually own this movie and am ashamed to admit it. There are so many different things that I could've spent my money on but I had to spend it on Puma Man.

Disregard the negative reviews!

[EitoMan · 10/10 · 24 October 2021]

Look--this is a trash film. But it's a GLORIOUS trash film. If you're into cult/psychotronic cinema, then Puma Man delivers. I find it difficult to believe that if you're reading reviews on Puma Man in 2021 (or later) that you don't already know it's a cult film. So using that metric, I give it 10/10. Horrible but fun script, laughable FX, great cult actors. Just go watch it, it's awesome.

Terrible technical execution, Fantastic energy.

[genericemailyeah · 7/10 · 16 February 2014]

As someone who made a point out of watching bad movies, then when I couldn't stomach it anymore, watched hundreds of reviews of bad movies, this is not a movie deserving of a rating that can be compared with the likes of "the Girl With the Gold Boots" or "Son of the Mask." Is it poorly made on a technical level? No doubt, but not on the level of the movies it's thrown in with.

For one, this movie is actually cohesive. It's stupid, but it can be followed rather easily. The Aztec gods put a godchild and a golden mask on Earth, centuries pass, a bad guy finds the mask and uses it to try and take over the world, "epic" battle ensues to some kick-ass disco music.

Does Pumaman actually fit the implications of his name? No. Does he do anything? Not without complaining, but yes, he does dumb superhero things. Which is more than can be said for the other 70's superhero movie that just so happened to be tied to a Marvel License... Captain America.

That is why I think this movie is actually quite good. It has energy. Things happen. The things that are unintentionally funny (the whole movie) are that pure sort of funny, not that cringe inducing, embarrassing kind of funny. It is all around a joy to watch.

And yes, the MST3K version is the way to go

Wonderfully horrible

[bergkamp125 · 1/10 · 2 September 2002]

This "film" completely deserves to rank among the top 100 of worst movies ever made. Only see it though if you're set on watching some of the worst performances ever brought to the silver screen.

The whole story is utterly ridiculous and laughable and I highly recommend reading the user's comments on this one. It has all been said before and I have little to add except that I feel sorry for Donald Pleasance to have been forced (must have been) to take part in this particular production.