Rating: **
Review Date: 9/26/24
Director: Michael Winner
Cast: Sophia Loren, James Coburn, O.J. Simpson, Eli Wallach,
Billy Barty, cameo by Victor Mature
"You change sides too often."
Adele Tasca's (Sophia Loren) husband is killed by a letter bomb, and she wants revenge. Maybe. Her husband was about to expose some dirt on Karl Stegner, who is one of the richest and most powerful people in the world, and his people took him out. The US government is also interested in getting their hands on Stegner for tax evasion, so they call in a mercenary hitman named Jerry Fanon (James Coburn) to track him down and bring him in alive. Conveniently, Jerry and Adele have some romantic history with each other, and they become wary allies. Fanon also calls on a friend (O.J. Simpson) to help out with some of the heavier lifting. After chasing Stegner throughout the Caribbean and a number of plot twists, Fanon finally gets his man, but at what cost?
It's a fairly entertaining thriller, but the plot is so needlessly convoluted that it's hard to follow what's going on. There's also a throwaway subplot with Jerry's identical twin Eddie that's never explained. The film was originally conceived as a Charles Bronson vehicle, but when he backed out, the producers brought in James Coburn rather than scrapping the entire production. He reportedly agreed to it for the money, the locations, and a chance to work with Sophia Loren. Sophia Loren is lovely and effortlessly plays a dirty and duplicitous femme fatale who charms everyone and has a new outfit in every scene. While Coburn doesn't do much, O.J. Simpson handles most of the action with athletic enthusiasm and charismatic flair. He also makes a cringe-worthy comment about murder.
The locations are fabulous and the action scenes are fun, but the direction is inconsistent and the lighting is uneven. It's also not clear what the title has to do with anything. If nothing else, it's a nice nostalgic taste of no-nonsense 70s cinema.