THE SON OF HURRICANE RAMIREZ (1966) ** ½

 

Thieves dressed in Lucha Libre masks hold up an armored car and make off with a lot of pesos.  Since one of the robbers was wearing a Hurricane Ramirez mask, the famed luchador (David Silva) becomes suspect numero uno.  After Hurricane’s arrest, his son (Pepe Romay) takes up the mask in order to continue his father’s legacy (and clear his name). 

This is the third installment in the Hurricane Ramirez series, and it contains some entertaining wrestling sequences.  Since Hurricane’s scrawny kid wears the mask some of the time, a few of the wrestling scenes are more comedic in nature.  One tag team match culminates with Hurricane’s father, Tonino (Tonino Jackson) pinning both of his opponents at the same time.  He also participates in a royal rumble match in which all the participants dress in drag!  Even though the emphasis is on comedy in these scenes, they are still fun to watch.

The best part of the film is the character of “Monjita Negra”, AKA:  “The Black Nun".  Wrapped in a black cloak and sporting a cool zombie mask, The Black Nun puts off an eerie vibe that elevates this entry from being just your typical luchador flick.  He is a total badass, and his match with Hurricane and his son is the definite highlight.  

Unfortunately, you have to sit through a lot of unnecessary scenes set in Hurricane’s pal’s restaurant with his bumbling family waiting on customers and shit.  These types of scenes worked better in The Mystery of Hurricane Ramirez, but here, they just stop the plot on a dime.  The musical numbers in this one are kind of dull too, and lack the fun of the routines found in the previous entry. 

When compared to The Mystery of Hurricane Ramirez, I have to say this one’s highs are higher than its predecessor, but the valleys are much lower.  Still, the wrestling scenes alone are worth it, and The Black Nun is a blast to watch.  He returned for the fifth entry of the series, Hurricane Ramirez vs. The Black Nun. 

Side Note:  The version I saw was a half-assed 3-D conversion.  The picture was slightly tilted so the stuff at the top of the screen leaned out towards the audience.  Since it wasn’t originally filmed that way, nothing really leaps out from the screen.  All we get is a couple of women’s beehive hairdos and a few men’s hat brims that jut and creep out of the frame somewhat.  The opening credits look cool in 3-D though.  All in all, it isn’t great 3-D, but I’ve seen worse 3-D effects in movies that were specifically made to be in 3-D, so make of that what you will.