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Review
by
Brian Lindsey
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7
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5 |
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10
= Highest Rating |
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Released
the same year as Thunderball,
Our Man Flint remains
the most successful and beloved of all the so-called
"spy spoofs" made to cash in on the 007 craze
of the '60s. It's easy to see why. Produced by
a major Hollywood studio, the production enjoyed
a relatively high budget. The script is a knowing,
tongue-in-cheek homage to all the (then still
fresh) Bond movie conventions. And as Derek Flint,
secret agent extraordinaire, James Coburn is perfectly
cast —
the very essence of detached American übercool.
A cabal
of power-mad scientists has perfected a weather
control machine, promising global calamity unless
the governments of the world destroy all nuclear
weapons and surrender to their authority. Hurricanes,
monster storms, volcanic eruptions, melting ice
caps —
the military forces of the great powers
are helpless against such threats. Various spy
agencies, coordinated under the American-led Z.O.W.I.E.
(Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage),
have failed to locate the scientists' hidden base
or learn the secret of their power. With time
running out, computer data banks are consulted
to name the perfect agent for the assignment.
(The Univac punchcard system used in this scene
may provoke a smile due to its antiquity.) The
result is conclusive: Derek Flint is the only
man for the job.
Against
his better judgment the head of Z.O.W.I.E., American
intel czar Cramden (The
Exorcist's Lee J. Cobb), is dispatched
by the president to recruit him. A diffident Flint
refuses. (Cramden: "Flint, the world's in
trouble!" Flint: "It usually is but
it manages to extricate itself without my help.")
A foiled assassination attempt soon has him on
the case, however. The investigation ultimately
leads to the island HQ of the Galaxy organization,
a group headed by an oddly-named trio of eggheads
dedicated to world domination under their benevolent
control. They haven't reckoned on Derek Flint.
Our
Man Flint tries to be a send-up, a spoof,
of the 007 films rather than a rip-off; in this
it succeeds handily. As in all James Bond pics
post-From
Russia with Love (1963), there's a
pre-titles sequence followed by pop art main titles
that feature the undulating silhouettes of curvaceous
women. Flint even gets his own theme music courtesy
of composer Jerry Goldsmith's swanky score, which
repeats this theme in just about every conceivable
form throughout the picture. (And it's almost
as cool as 007's distinctive theme music, too.)
But here the similarities end. Unlike Bond, the
dutiful civil servant who risks life and limb
for Her Majesty's government, Flint is a mercenary
character who only accepts the mission because
the villains try to kill him as a precautionary
measure. While Bond is an expert in many fields
and knows a little about everything else, Flint
is a true Renaissance Man —
he's an expert in everything, from karate
to cooking, from ballet to ballistics. (The guy's
a scientist, a medical doctor, an aesthete, a
connoisseur, a deadly martial artist and a Zen
master to boot.) Bond picks up women during the
course of his adventures; Flint hangs out in his
plush New York penthouse with a harem of nubile
female "assistants" ready to serve his
every whim. When Cramden tries to arm him with
a variety of Q Branch-like gadgets, Flint declines
because his own high tech gizmos are better
than the government's. (A cigarette lighter with
82 different functions proves to be his most useful.)
The inclusion of the British "0008"
character —
played by a Sean Connery lookalike —
is an amusing way of saying, "Hey, I'm not
James Bond. I'm cooler than James Bond."
Well,
perhaps the character is. But while Our
Man Flint is as entertaining as a number
of the lesser Bonds, since it's an action-comedy
(rather than an action-adventure film with a few
comedic elements), it can never hope to top the
best of them. The story is even more ridiculous
than the silliest of the 007 films, and we don't
get to visit any real-life "exotic"
locations —
Flint's encounters in Marseilles and Rome all
take place on the Fox back lot. The kitschy, garish
sets lack the artful style of designer Ken Adam's
memorable work in the Bond series during the same
time period. The movie really shows its age in
its depiction of women, managing to be even more
sexist than the early Connery Bonds. (Females
at the Galaxy base are mentally programmed to
be "pleasure units" for the men.) Gorgeous
former Miss Israel Gila Golan (Valley
of Gwangi), the flick's femme fatale,
is stiff and wooden. (Though certainly dynamite
looking in that wet red bikini!) That Flint is
so omniscient and totally unflappable means the
film isn't able to generate the tiniest bit of
suspense, something the top drawer Bonds are still
able to pull off —
even though we know 007 is going to come
through unscathed. Still, Coburn carries the picture
with his winking portrayal of the impeccable secret
agent. He's charmingly arrogant, wooing the ladies
with ease and flashing that huge heliograph of
a smile in the face of danger. He's also great
in the action scenes. Personally trained by martial
arts legend Bruce Lee, Coburn displays a lanky,
athletic grace when delivering a high-flying kick
to a henchman's face; his karate moves look pretty
good.
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While
terrific to finally have this groovy '60s film on
DVD, it's disappointing that it comes as such a
bare-bones release. The only extras are four theatrical
trailers: Our Man Flint,
In Like Flint (the
inferior 1967 sequel), Fathom
(starring Raquel Welch), and Modesty
Blaise.
The good news here
is that the film looks great, presented in 2.35:1
widescreen format and anamorphically enhanced for
16x9 TVs. Colors are vivid and there's nary a blemish
to report. The disc's Digital Mono audio track is
strong and clear, though a small amount of hiss
was detected in a few scenes (barely discernible).
To hear Goldsmith's score in true stereo would've
been great.
7/24/02 |
| UPDATE
The disc reviewed here went OOP in 2005. On November
7, 2006 Fox is re-releasing Our
Man Flint as part of the 3-disc Ultimate
Flint Collection, which will include both Coburn
films, a made-for-TV movie and a number of bonus
features. |
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