The world's weather seems to have changed dramatically with violent
storms everywhere and long dormant volcanoes suddenly erupting. No one
is sure what is happening or why but when American intelligence chief
Cramden loses yet another team of agents, there appears to be only one
man who can do the job: Derek Flint, former super spy, incredibly rich
and the ultimate ladies man. Despite Cramden's concerns, Flint is on the
job and soon discovers that the Earth's weather is under the control of
a secret organization known as GALAXY whose scientists are looking to
pacify the world and devote humankind to scientific pursuits.
Review: I will start off by saying that I am not a fan of spy films, I find them mostly boring and just not my cup of tea. Now on the other hand I do like the occasional "spoof" spy flick namely "Spy Hard (starring Leslie Nielsen) and the Austin Powers films. Of course long before those films were made you had the "Our Man Flint" and "In Like Flint" which if I remember right is mentioned in one way or another in the Austin Powers films. For this review we will be delving into the first of the 2 which is "Our Man Flint", next month it'll be the sequel.
Like you would expect this film takes the stereotypes of the spy film and makes fun of them in a way that pokes fun at it, but pay tribute to it as well. The thing I like most is the gadgets, or should I say gadget because he only has one gadget that is in the form of a lighter that does a ton of things. The thing that kept me laughing each time it came into the scene was the telephone, it just popped up at the most random moments and had this goof ringing sound, it may seem stupid to some but it's great comedy to me. Now even though Our Man Flint had comedy in it and it is a spoof I actually found it way more fun and entertaining than most of the 007 films I have seen before. James Coburn is a very good actor that plays Derek Flint perfectly with style, mojo, and slick sense of humor. Really I can see no other actor doing this role as well as he did.
Unlike the spoof films of today this film has a certain level of charm to it and is just crafted better, instead of cheap laughs you get witty humor. I could see fans of spy films and those like myself who are really not a fan really enjoying the fun that Our Man Flint brings to the table, it has enough action to please the fans and enough humor to please the other half. I only can hope "In Like Flint" is as much fun as this one has been. One scene that I did notice that they kinda remade in Austin Powers was the one where Flint has to fight off the bald German henchman and he fights him in the stall, in Austin Powers I thought it was a tad bit funnier due to the subject nature. Nonetheless it still was a funny scene especially when he has to stop because the stall door closes and he has to put a quarter in to unlock it, now that's comedic gold!
Overall this was a very groovy film that was quite entertaining and worth watching over and over again! If you get a chance to buy this blu-ray release I suggest you get it before it sells out! Only 3,000 copies are being made! The presentation was excellent and the audio was as well, also along with the great picture and sound you get a good amount of special features which seems to be happening more and more with Twilight Time, before you just got an isolated music score and sometimes a trailer. As much as I like special features from time to time I am mainly in it for the film.
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Daniel Mann
Genre: Comedy/Spy
Blu-Ray Release Year: 2012
Theatrical Release Year: 1965
Time Length: 108 mins.
Company: Twilight Time
Website:
www.screenarchives.com
ADDITIONAL SCREENSHOTS:
