Our Man Flint (1966)

Too much of everything

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

STANDING IN LIVING testimony to the power and popularity of the JAMES BOND Series, super spies in celluloid sprouted up in all corners of Hollywood. The two FLINT movies, with James Coburn, were about the most successful.BEING THAT THEY were parodies, the production team had the broadest of parameters. In addition to the usual trappings of cool hero, sensuous females, hot cars and futuristic gadgetry; the element of parody played a major role.WE EVEN HAVE Flint (Coburn) meeting up with a virtual James Bond double at a waterfront dive in Marsallies. The conversation between the two would suggest that "all spies know each other." SOME OF OUR favourite gags were: a parody of then President Lyndon B. Johnson's talking (unseen) on the White House/Kremlin hot line and the President's vocal pause of "Uhhhh....." during a speech; also Flint's meting scientists Dr. Schneider (Benson Fong) and Dr. Woo (Peter Brocco, whose names and races are reversed.THE OVERALL EFFECT of the picture are most satisfying; as evidenced by the reactions of the audience members we saw in the theatre a mere 49 years ago.IT WAS FOLLOWED by the sequel, IN LIKE FLINT.

As the James Bond series debuted in the 1960s and had its great success, out came the imitators and the parodies, and "Our Man Flint" is a pretty good example of those particular genres. It's not quite good enough to really make it something special, but it's solid entertainment just the same, with enough laughs to sustain it for the duration.The movie does offer what could be considered quintessential James Coburn: the film star is every inch the dashing, charismatic hero, playing world renowned secret agent Derek Flint, who works for Z.O.W.I.E. (!); this stands for Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage. He's the only man who can possibly save the world when the terrorist organization Galaxy starts manipulating its weather. He's a little too self interested to give a hoot at first (You can't entirely blame him. He's surrounded by four gorgeous gal pals.), but soon realizes he must get involved.As directed by Daniel Mann, this movie does have just the right tone. It's frequently funny and thus easy to watch. It's very colourful and well designed entertainment, extremely well shot in CinemaScope and accompanied by a peppy Jerry Goldsmith music score. It definitely could have used more action, though, and it moves a little slow before picking up its momentum for an exciting finish. Its scenery attractions are most effective, especially Gila Golan, a stunner of an actress who plays bad girl Gila. It's got cool gadgets, such as the lighter with over 80 functions. The supporting cast is great, from Lee J. Cobb as Flints' frustrated superior to Edward Mulhare as intimidating villain Malcolm Rodney to Benson Fong, Rhys Williams, and Peter Brocco as the trio of scientists running things. Audiences are also certain to get a chuckle out of the fact that one of the bad guys is named Hans Gruber, 22 years before Alan Rickman played a man by that name in the action classic "Die Hard".Overall, this is worth watching for any fan of espionage, adventure, and comedy. Coburn is just so much damn fun as Flint that he makes it impossible to resist. It was followed, predictably enough, by a sequel, "In Like Flint", and even a TV movie (with Ray Danton as Flint) a decade later.Seven out of 10.

A secret organization called "Galaxy" has found a way to manipulate the weather and is threatening to take over the world. So a secret agent by the name of "Derek Flint" (James Coburn) is called in to stop them. But to do that, he has to find out where their base of operations is in order to destroy it. Realizing that he is the only man that stands in their way, they send out their two main security agents named "Gila" (Gila Golan) and "Malcolm Rodney" (Edward Mulhare) to kill him. Failing that they seek to neutralize him by acquiring his "four weaknesses" as an insurance policy. Anyway, this film was obviously intended to capitalize on the popularity of the James Bond series and it succeeds to a certain degree. It is clever, sexy, funny and quite preposterous. As it was intended to be. James Coburn plays his part very well and although Gila Golan didn't star in very many notable films she is definitely one of the most beautiful actresses at the time. Be that as it may, while this film has a definite 60's flavor, I think it still manages to retain its charm and entertainment value.

Of all the cinematic characters that were born in the 1960's (and later) as a result of the huge commercial success of the James Bond movies, Derek Flint is probably the most widely known (along with Matt Helm). However, when you sit down to watch "Our Man Flint", the first of his two vehicles, you'll find out that it's closer in quality to the many Euro-spy flicks of the decade rather than the official Bond entries. Although the movie does boast vivid colors and very impressive, large-scale sets, it seems that most of the budget went into building and then destroying those sets. The locations include New York, Marseilles and Rome, but you would hardly know it since most of the action takes place indoors. And speaking of action, there is little of that in "Our Man Flint". There are several fight scenes (which James Coburn executes very well), and lots of explosions at the end, but the rest of the time the movie plods. As a woman assigned to kill Flint, Gila Golan is dazzlingly gorgeous, but it is rather obvious that she will join his side by the end. And then there are the conflicted "politics" of the movie: Flint's biggest objection to the scheme of the "evil" scientists to control the weather and create a new world seems to be that they want to use women as robot-like "pleasure units"; at the same time, he has his own private harem, made of four beautiful women who are ready to serve his every wish (obviously the movie was well behind its time). At the end - SPOILER - he blows up the island where GALAXY's headquarters are, and rescues ONLY the women that he knows; what happens to all the other women who were being programmed as "pleasure units"? He doesn't seem to care. Flint is just not a very likable character. (**)