Customer Reviews

In Like Flint

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The elements of the Flint formula really came together for the first time in this, the sequel to OUR MAN FLINT. James Coburn's superspy Flint inhabits a world somewhat more distant from reality than James Bond. Flint doesn't save the world for a living; it's more of a hobby, along with bullfighting, cooking, martial arts, desert survival, ballet, scientific research, and who knows what else. From the beginning to the final hairbreadth escape Flint is having fun, and so are we--Coburn seldom loses his infectious smile. The story stresses lighthearted adventure over real danger (come to think of it, I don't recall the bad guys ever actually killing anyone). But three decades later, the amazing thing about this movie is its progressive view of women and male-female relationships. The female characters are capable without losing their feminity. (And--who'd have thought it?--Flint has a few genuine words of wisdom on getting along with the opposite sex: "I don't compete with them.") My favorite moment in the movie is Jean Hale rolling her eyes after Flint lights a woman's cigarette--watch for it! Why only four stars? Let's be real here. This is a fun movie, but it's no CITIZEN KANE.

The sequel to the wonderful "Our Man Flint" is a bit less fun than the original, but still worthwhile nonetheless.

Women have been quietly taking over the world (well, the industrialized world, anyway) via thought control, and are now in a position to rule the planet. The president has been replaced by a doppleganger, and there are even traitors infiltrating ZOWIE Headquarters! Who else but Flint can save the day?

I have to admit, I couldn't always root for Flint in this one. All those bikini-clad beauties were nice, and can take over my world anytime!

The biggest disappointment here has to be during the confrontation between Flint and the leaders of the female revolution. The philosophical argument is never resolved, leaving our hero to simply tell the ladies to "give it up," which was kind of a letdown.

The crisis facing ZOWIE chief Lloyd C. Cramden is nicely played by Lee J. Cobb. There are also plenty of quintissensial Flint moments ("Well there were five girls at one time, but I've been trying to cut down."), and new Flint gadgets. We even get to see Yvonne Craig (forever famous as Batgirl) as Natasha, doing a swingin' 60's dance to "decadent" American music. Andrew Duggan makes a good President, and Jean Hale is suitably attractive as Flint's nemesis.

The best thing added to the Flint formula would have to be the theme song, updated with words. Hey, how can you NOT like a song called, "Your ZOWIE Face"?

Sadly, there was no third outing for Flint, although there was a short-lived Flint television program in 1976 with different actors. The show did not have the same appeal as the feature films, and quickly faded into obscurity. While Austin Powers is a wonderful parody, he not exactly the heir apparent to super-spy Flint. The Powers films are not subtle spy spoofs, and it was that subtlety of Bond spoofing which Flint had captured perfectly.

Few extras on the two Flint DVDs (just the trailers), and again I have to say that Fox has let down the fans of Flint by neglecting to have commentary or interviews on these discs. On the plus side, the transfer is well done, and in widescreen.

The second and final installment in the Flint series is an outrageous comic romp that showcases the flashy style of America's mod super agent, Derek Flint. With a plot that just cannot be taken seriously, "In Like Flint" is an all out farce, that must be accepted as such, to be fully appreciated.

The story revolves around an elaborate scheme concocted by a group of women, running a health spa and cosmetics empire in the Virgin Islands, called "Fabulous Face". Their plan is to assert female superiority over the male gender by replacing the President with a double. Once this is accomplished, the substitute President will then aid them in the further execution of their master plan. Head of ZOWIE (Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage), Lloyd Cramden (Lee J. Cobb) is playing golf with the President (Andrew Duggan), when the switch is made. After becoming suspicious, Cramden asks Flint to look into the matter. Derek is busy at work on a "dolphin dictionary", and also has his hands full with a new collection of beautiful dolls, but still has time to help an old friend in trouble.

From there, the fun never stops, as Flint jumps from one wild wacky adventure to another. His foray into a ZOWIE warehouse, and the subsequent battle with the guards, is one of the film's highlights. As is his unlikely side trip to Russia to perform in a ballet, where he encounters the lovely go-go dancing Natasha, played by Yvonne Craig, TV's Batgirl. Rooftop escapades, and then it is on to Fabulous Face headquarters disguised as a Fidel Castro lookalike. Romping in the tropics, leading an invading armada of bikini clad women, Flint saves the world again, and winds up in Earth's orbit with two female cosmonauts. Only he could pull this off.

For pure escapist fun, it is hard to beat this. Exotic locations, some lavish sets, and beautiful women. Andrew Duggan is great in a dual role, and bumbling, grumbling Lee J. Cobb even sacrifices his moustache to appear in drag. It is a film that captures and evokes the free flowing vibe of the time (1967). Regrettably, this would be the last time James Coburn would appear as the character. Oh what could have been! The same could be said for the DVD. While the transfer is excellent, the film receives just a "plain Jane" treatment with virtually no extras. Plainly Fox just did not care. MGM's SE Bond DVD's are the benchmark, and this lazy effort pales in comparison. Fans of the Flint films should not miss the soundtrack with Jerry Goldsmith's music for both films on one CD.

Less technicolor and more monochromatic than its predecessor, "In Like Flint" still uses broad strokes to great advantage in poking fun at the Bond films. The indomitable Derek Flint returns to save the world, this time from a bevy of beauties who simultaneously raise the ire of the world's women while replacing powerful males with surgically-altered substitutes (leading to, perhaps, the most prescient line of dialogue in any 1960s film--upon discovering that the man in the White House is not who he seems to be, a disbelieving Flint says, "An actor as president?"). That is, until a renegade ZOWIE general (Steve Inhat) decides it's his turn to take the reins of power. The delightful Lee J. Cobb is back as Flint's curmudgeonly boss, Cramden, as are the secret agent's posse of female admirers, and TV's Batgirl, Yvonne Craig, even shows up as a Russian ballerina. "In Like Flint" feels more grown up than the previous film, partly because the lighting and cinematography are more stark and partly because the humor is sometimes more rooted in satire than parody. Notions like the Red Scare being a feint to the very real dangers of corruption from within and the beauty industry actually having our worst interests in mind--and charging a premium for them--are slipped in with more obvious gags involving oversized eyebrows, cross-dressing, and the bouncing sing-a-long ball. Only the crankiest among us are likely to find the juvenile sexism of either Flint film worth comment, as it's a staple of the genre, meaning that the biggest weakness here is the same as the earlier effort: a no-frills DVD.

This is the ultimate 60's spy movie spoof, capturing the total madcap, surreal, death-defying, and chauvinist ways of a spy in a 60's movie. Of course, having been made in 1967, what else could you expect?

James Coburn is Derek Flint, the most skilled, diverse, cultured, bon vivant spy ever. He can do anything, such as engineering, kung fu, desert hiking, and performing ballet in Russia.

The style of this widescreen epic is amazing. The special effects are very well done for the time, and are even now hard to detect. Flint is every inch a chauvinist pig, so if you want to see women kicking [rear], this is not the film for you, as Flint has three women who serve his every need and are basically helpless without him.

If you are a fan of the Austin Powers movies, then you may well be in familier territory here.

This film has a ton of tongue in cheek humor, and is a very enjoyable watch.

The DVD also features several trailers, and is very well done for a no-frills package. The transfer is gorgeous, and the compression of the video signal is top-notch. The sound is in it's original glorious mono, and we get to hear that super-catchy Flint theme over and over again in it's various incarnations.

I heartily recommend this for lovers of Bond and Powers.

Nevertheless, it's the best "Bond" parody to come along, better even than its predecessor. After all, where else can you find a film where the incredibly prescient secret agent muses on the awful possibilities of "an actor as president"?

This is the sequel to Our Man Flint, another spy-themed flick starring suave, hip, super-spy Flint as a secret agent with all of Bond's moves and more. . . or not. Derrick Flint is surely a man who gets the job done when it comes to being a secret government agent. . . but, hip and suave? Well let's just say he is no match for James Bond. James Coburn plays agent Flint and don't be fooled by his tall and lanky appearance; all you spy-spoof fans will still get what you expect. Yes, he still gets the girls, saves the world, and manages to show off his keen martial arts skills while doing so. Although Coburn did learn martial arts from Bruce Lee, he doesn't exactly appear as graceful. . . but then again neither did Diana Rigg with her Judo chops in the Avengers series (she sure did look cute, though). In case you don't remember the first one, Flint had been called out from retirement after he spoiled the infiltration of Kremlin in Our Man Flint, but now it was time for this dangerous man to settle down. Well, apparently, a group of beautiful woman has decided to overthrow the government using subliminal brainwashing in beauty salons. Who else is there but Flint to stop this diabolical scheme, and so we get another taste of "our man flint". Although there is not much originality in the film and the script lacks a bit in both its comedic and dramatic attempts, I will say that there are some pretty alluring visuals. Take the girls for instance. . . they are all sexy and look ultra-hip. The furniture in the film is ultra groovy and just watching Coburn trying to appear slick forces me to watch and giggle. He may not be agent OO7, but if your looking for amusement espionage style, this is the way to go.

Derek Flint is one of a kind with his gadgets, beautiful girls, Karate, Ballet dancing, deductive mind plus sheer audacity, extreme resourcefulness and extreme coolness under fire. After Flint, well, Bond is kind of...boring if you know what I mean. Lee J. Cobb is very funny as his Boss and you even get to see him in drag at one point. No, he's not a poofter but he is in disguise. At the start, Lee J. Cobb is set up by the sexy No.2 henchwoman in a honey trap after being drugged with a powerful narcotic in an Italian restaurant. Discredited and suspended, he desperately calls for Flint's help. Derek comes to the rescue of Cramden with exciting and hilarious results. James Coburn in a send up of Fidel Castro is super and must not be missed. The fight scene is very exciting and in real life, James Coburn had martial arts training from Bruce Lee himself, and it shows. The Karate is Hollywood showy but can be used in real life and death situations. The two big fight scenes are very well done. With bare hands and improvised weapons, Flint overcomes all. I just love the scene when his Boss asks him what happened to the 4 girls he used to have and Flint answers nonchalantly, "I'm trying to cut down". In the story,the President of the USA is replaced by a look alike under the control of the real No.1 bad guy. Shades of Saddam Hussein! The women think they have everything in control but it is the US Army officer who they think are under their thumb that has the upper hand. Not for long when Our Man Flint appears and soon all the bad guys get what they so richly deserve. The world is saved by a super hero. Can one man make a difference? YES! There are times throughout history when one man can and has made a difference.The scene where Flint in a delightful sendup of Fiel Castro hijacks the Russian plane enroute to Havana is great! He pretends to give 2 live chickens to the pilots and then ties them up, literally. Flint then infiltrates by parachute the enemy base in the Virgin Islands!The finale is somewhat unbelievable but entertaining nonetheless as Woman Power overcomes all the male bad guys. Men have one terrible weakness unless they are poofs and that is their testosterone. A beautifully seductive girl leaves them weak kneed and malleable. Deadlier than the male indeed. See it soon. It'll make your day.By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet

If only the Bond movies were this much fun.

DVD lovers now have their patience rewarded, thanks to the simultaneous releases of "Our Man Flint" and "In Like Flint". Ever catch these two movies in widescreen on AMC network? If you have, then you know what kind of fun you are in for with these two films. These are spoofs but not in the "Airplane" or "Naked Gun" vein. These spoofs are of the "wink-wink nudge-nudge" variety instead, never over-the-top enough as to be completely silly. They poke gentle fun at the concept of a James Bond "super-rich, super-intelligent, super-suave" agent, but still let you enjoy the movie itself, rather than being a series of puns and sight gags.

But if puns and sight gags are what you want, then check out the Zucker Brothers' "Top Secret" with Val Kilmer, also due on DVD any moment now.

There's no way this movie could typify the sixties any more. From the playful flute-driven theme song, the glitzy cinematography, and Yvonne Craig's go-go dancing, (not to mention the OBVIOUS clapboard sets,) this is soooo "Sixties" it isn't funny! But it IS!

James Coburn is still a "very funny fellow", to quote Brendan Gill, in this second Flint outing. Though it doesn't have the feeling of serendipity that the first one had, where you thought you discovered, finally, a good rival for 007 in pop culture, it still does the espionage thing in typical Yank fashion, sans the pretension or affectations of an Ian Fleming novel. The two Flint movies were meant to be fun, and I will always wonder why in blazes 20th Century Fox didn't add at LEAST two other episodes to this franchise!

Of course, a good part of the appeal of Derek Flint is the way Coburn portrays him, as a true renaissance man to end all renaissance men, but a MODEST one! Flint doesn't act cocky unless he's in the company of a truly deluded bad guy, like Rodney or Sebastian (the actor in this movie), or General Carter. He's always a perfect gentleman around Cramden, his girlfriends, any OTHER ladies he encounters or military or political officials of obvious high standing. I've often thought to myself that the one factor of true genius is not to be self-conscious of your genius....that modesty is the one true harbinger of a truly inspired mind, and Coburn's portrayal of Flint bolsters that.

Anyway, the plot is simple: Cheeky cabal of ladies, fed up with the way men have been running the world, get together to embark on running it "better", or so they think, but still have to use MEN to make their dream come true, and it is this aspect of their plan that does them in. Once they get a view from the mountaintop, the two men that they have trusted turn on them and it's up to Flint to humble the overreaching females and take down the power-crazed men, and this he does with aplomb, at the behest of Floyd Cramden, played again by Lee J. Cobb. Cramden appears in drag in a few scenes in this film, trying to infiltrate "Fabulous Face", the Caribbean headquarters of the megalomaniac women, placed, oddly enough, in the Virgin Islands! Because of damaging photos taken of him in bed with what appears to be a prostitute, Cramden loses his position at Z.O.W.I.E., and has to recruit Flint to get to the bottom of it all. In one scene in this movie, as it's revealed that the ladies have placed an actor in the White House, impersonating the real President, Flint sits back and says: "An actor...as PRESIDENT!?" I'm sure every person who's ever seen both Flint movies wants Coburn to say, "It's diabolical!!" right afterward.

Fans of "Dune" will like the prescient use of sound as a weapon in this film, and everyone will like the Jerry Goldsmith score. However, one scene, where Flint is in Moscow dancing ballet with Yvonne Craig, and takes an improbable, slowish leap up to a balcony, might make the goings-on look a bit hokey, breaking whatever spell the movie might have had on you. People who thought "Day of the Dolphin" would ruin Mike Nichols' career, (and it almost did!) might wince at Flint speaking to one of the finny mammals in its own "language", compiling, believe it or not, a "Dolphin Dictionary".

However, like I said, Flint was 007's only true rival, and perhaps 20th Century should have given him a few more chances to impress us even more. I mean, this role pretty much did make Coburn the star he turned into....I would much rather have seen another "Flint" movie rather than "Harry In Your Pocket".

Damn shame, really....