Solo (1996)

Solo is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Norberto Barba, and starring Mario Van Peebles, William Sadler, Adrien Brody, Barry Corbin and Demián Bichir. The film was based on the 1989 novel Weapon by Robert Mason, and was adapted into a screenplay by David L. Corley for Columbia/TriStar Pictures. It was released by Triumph Films on August 23, 1996, and grossed $5.1 million at the box office.

Plot:

Solo is an android designed as a military killing machine. He is sent to Central America by General Haynes to battle guerrilla insurgents, but a flaw develops in his programming, and he develops a conscience and compassion. His developers try to take him back for deprogramming, but he flees to the jungle in a helicopter. His main energy supply was damaged during the first mission, forcing him to switch to his much less powerful secondary power.

He joins a small village community that is under constant threat from guerilla attackers, and he protects them in exchange for use of their electric generator (they previously used it to power a television). There, he learns to ‘bluff’ from a child that befriends him, Miguel. Solo helps the villagers drive off local Warlord Rio and his small army, but the combat is detected by a military satellite. A black ops team is sent to recover or destroy Solo, while they ally with Rio.

Production:

At one point, producer Lawrence Gordon had initially purchased the rights to Weapon along with options on other books penned by Robert Mason. Following his work directing Panther, Mario Van Peebles was looking for a project that would provide him a complex character to play and felt Solo with its depictions of indigenous people under the threat of superior technology provided opportunity to do so. The film was shot entirely in Puerto Vallarta.