Being bitterly disappointed with Umberto Lenzi's 1966 Komic-Book Spy film Kriminal,I was initial not that keen on taking a look at any of his other Spy related movies.Luckaly,as I was taken a look at his earlier credits,I noticed that Lenzi had made a much more fun sounding James Bond style Spy movie,which is said to be the first ever film to have an actress play the James Bond role.
The plot:
Getting details that the inventor of a now-missing anti-radar device (which can also melt anything that it is aimed at) has been murdered Cairo,the CIA and MI6 decided to each send their very best spy so that the "lost" device can be found as quickly as possible.Being given hardly anytime to prepare,agents 008 MacDonald and agent 006 Frank Smith rush to the plane and take their seats.As the plane begins its journey, MacDonald and Smith start falling for each other,which leads them to temporarily forget the chaos that they will be facing in Cario,when MacDonald and Smith discover that they are not the only ones after the device.
View on the film:
From the movies opening 5 minutes of the inventor been murdered,Umberto Lenzi impressively destroyed any fears I had that he would be as restrained here as he was with Kriminal.Showing the streets of Cairo in a tremendous blur,Lenzi directs the films terrific gun battles/Kung-Fu fights in a fantastic,whip pans,scatter shot style that keeps the movie moving at a very fast pace.Giving the movie a rather simplistic screenplay,writers Lenzi and Wallace Mackentzy (whose uncredited) give the film a number of light,cheeky Bond refs, (a characters shown reading the filmed in the future Live And Let Die) whilst also making sure to make the spy's and the baddies equally weird,with one of the spy's staying undercover by being a cabaret singer for various bands,and one of the villains being a ninja who cant stop throwing his blades whenever the mood catches him.Taking over a role usually held for James Bond "action men" the beautiful Ingrid Schoeller gives a fantastic sassy performance as 008,with Schoeller (who also sings one of the songs in the film) showing 008 to be a spy who attempts to complete a mission with a mix of charm and smarts,whist Lenzi shows off Schoeller's curvaceous looks in figure hugging dresses which would get a proud nod thumbs up from any Bond Girl walking by.
The plot:
Getting details that the inventor of a now-missing anti-radar device (which can also melt anything that it is aimed at) has been murdered Cairo,the CIA and MI6 decided to each send their very best spy so that the "lost" device can be found as quickly as possible.Being given hardly anytime to prepare,agents 008 MacDonald and agent 006 Frank Smith rush to the plane and take their seats.As the plane begins its journey, MacDonald and Smith start falling for each other,which leads them to temporarily forget the chaos that they will be facing in Cario,when MacDonald and Smith discover that they are not the only ones after the device.
View on the film:
From the movies opening 5 minutes of the inventor been murdered,Umberto Lenzi impressively destroyed any fears I had that he would be as restrained here as he was with Kriminal.Showing the streets of Cairo in a tremendous blur,Lenzi directs the films terrific gun battles/Kung-Fu fights in a fantastic,whip pans,scatter shot style that keeps the movie moving at a very fast pace.Giving the movie a rather simplistic screenplay,writers Lenzi and Wallace Mackentzy (whose uncredited) give the film a number of light,cheeky Bond refs, (a characters shown reading the filmed in the future Live And Let Die) whilst also making sure to make the spy's and the baddies equally weird,with one of the spy's staying undercover by being a cabaret singer for various bands,and one of the villains being a ninja who cant stop throwing his blades whenever the mood catches him.Taking over a role usually held for James Bond "action men" the beautiful Ingrid Schoeller gives a fantastic sassy performance as 008,with Schoeller (who also sings one of the songs in the film) showing 008 to be a spy who attempts to complete a mission with a mix of charm and smarts,whist Lenzi shows off Schoeller's curvaceous looks in figure hugging dresses which would get a proud nod thumbs up from any Bond Girl walking by.