tek's rating: ½

Our Man Flint (not rated)
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This came out in 1966, so I considered putting my review under "classics," but I really think "comedy" is the best fit. Of course, it could also be called "action/adventure," but technically it's a spoof of such things. Specifically, a spoof of James Bond movies. Anyway, I've wanted to watch it for a long time, but I didn't get around to it until 2013. And I definitely want to watch the sequel, though it probably won't be as good. I also would be remiss if I didn't mention that this movie is basically a prototype for the Austin Powers movies. (There's even a special phone that is a direct link to the President, with a ringtone you'll definitely recognize if you've seen the Powers movies.)

Um... so anyway. Someone's been tampering with the world's weather. There's an organization called ZOWIE (Zonal Organization for World Intelligence and Espionage) which wants to get to the bottom of the problem, but the agents they send out have all been disposed of by whoever's responsible, I guess. So they set their computers to figuring out who's the best person to send next, and the answer is Derek Flint. The head of ZOWIE, Lloyd Cramden, doesn't want to work with Flint, because he doesn't take orders. But the President orders Cramden to get Flint on the job. So he tries... but Flint isn't interested. He seems to be rich, and he lives with these four hotties who apparently cater to his every desire. But anyway... eventually he does take the job, after Cramden is nearly killed by a poisoned dart that was meant for Flint. Still, he refuses to work with a team, because he works solo. And he has his own super-gadget that does whatever he needs it to do. And he has his own jet. And stuff.

I don't want to divulge too many details of the plot from this point on, but I'll say that Flint is ridiculously knowledgeable about pretty much whatever he needs to be knowledgeable about at any moment. The action is a bit silly- I mean, obviously fake, but not over-the-top fake... at least not as much as it could be. The same could be said for pretty much everything in the movie... just the way the clues fall into place and lead him around until he finally finds the island headquarters of the evil organization, which is called Galaxy. It's all ridiculous, but most of it is at least a bit shy of being truly redonkulous. Anyway, Galaxy is run by a trio of scientists who finally make some demands of the world's governments, which actually don't sound so bad. But eventually we see that the idyllic world they hope to create isn't really perfect... it involves brainwashing, particularly of hot women. Um... and the main people who work for the scientists are a hot woman named Gila, who falls for Flint, of course; and a guy named Malcolm Rodney, who believes Gila isn't doing a good job. (And he's kind of right.) And of course Flint eventually thwarts the evil plans.

So... the movie is funny, and a few bits were actually rather clever, I thought. And, you know, there's plenty of eye candy. And it's all very 1960s. And I guess that's all there is to say.


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