Friday, November 16, 2018

THE MAN FROM S.E.X. (1979) ** ½


Gareth Hunt takes over for Nicky Henson as secret agent Charles Bind, “Number One” in this sequel to Her Majesty’s Top Gun.  This time out, Number One must stop a corrupt Senator (Gary Hope) from replacing the Vice President with an evil double.  He also contends with the Senator’s ruthless henchman, Jensen Fury (Nick Tate), who’s just itching to prove he’s a quicker draw than Number One.

It’s always fun when someone from the legitimate James Bond series appear in these campy 007 knockoffs.  In this case, it’s Geoffrey Keen playing the M role.  There are lots of Bond tropes that are lovingly sent up.  We have a Q-like inventor named Merlin, a sexy love interest with a double entendre for a name (“Carlotta Muff”), karate fights, oddball henchmen, cool gadgets (including a flying car), and a Bond-style opening credits sequence.  (The song itself doesn’t sound like it would belong in a Bond movie, but it’s quite rocking.) 

As far as Bond spoofs go, you can do much worse.  Although, it’s not exactly a spoof, but rather another version of a Bond movie done on a smaller budget, with more desperate puns, weirder gadgets, and a few topless scenes.  Some of the highlights include a car equipped with a buzz saw, exploding women, and flamethrower lighters.  The best scene is when a stripper with razor blades fastened to her tassels begins twirling them so fast that they become deadly buzz saws.  Number One protects himself by holding up a wooden table and she literally turns it into a toothpick!  To which he quips, “You wouldn’t happen to have an olive?” 

She replies, “No but I have a pair!”

Genius. 

The movie really fires on all cylinders during the first act, but the fun slowly dries up as it goes along.  I guess you can say that about many legitimate Bond pictures though.  The third act is weak too, which is probably the only thing preventing it from receiving a *** rating.  The good news is it’s funnier and more effective than Her Majesty’s Top Gun. 

AKA:  Licensed to Love and Kill.  AKA:  Undercover Lover.

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