Review: Operation Condor (1997)
Ram Samudrala
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OPERATION CONDOR (1997)
A film review by Ram Samudrala
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First and foremost, like many Jackie Chan movies, /Operation Condor/
(aka /Armour of God II: Operation Condor/) is a hilarious movie. It
has been a long time since I laughed so hard in a theatre. In fact,
one of the last times I laughed so much was during the prequel to this
movie, /Armour of God/ which I saw back in the late 80s.
Secondly, /Operation Condor/ is full of action, and inventive plot
gimmicks that leave you gaping. Take for example, an inflated ball
which Chan uses as a means of escape---a simple but effective
trick. Or how Chan, fighting villains in a wind tunnel, uses the force
of the wind to his advantage. I could go on. For whatever reasons,
Chan's movies allow him to utilise intelligent gimmicks which serve to
get him out of perilous situations, without relying on sophisticated
gadgets.
Finally, /Operation Condor/ has a healthy disrespect for the genre of
movies it belongs to and for the general notion of what people called
"political correctness". The script laughs at everything, and the
actors, primarily Chan himself, deliver the material in such a fashion
that it is almost impossible not to laugh, even if these are issues
one feels strongly about.
The plot is simple: Chan is agent Condor, who has to recover gold
bullion hidden by Nazis in the African desert. He is aided by three
pretty female accomplices: an United Nations desert specialist, the
granddaughter of the Nazi commander who hid the gold, and a desert
wanderer with a pet scorpion named Ding-ding. As usual, the English
over-dubbing is far from perfect, there's a certain roughness in the
continuity of the film.
The movie was was made in 1991, but yet the effects and stunts go over
well even today. It's not too different from watching an Indiana
Jones or a James Bond movie today: they still entertain. This got me
thinking about how a Jackie Chan movie made in Hollywood would turn
out: would it contain the same charm and self-effacing tone seen in
the Hong Kong productions? It is difficult to say. I, for one, find
Chan's movies all the more appealing because, devoid of a smooth
exterior found in many Hollywood films, you can get right to heart of
what matters in a movie and evaluate it on that basis.
The theatre where I saw /Operation Condor/ was packed and everyone was
boisterously laughing. This should not be missed if you're a Chan
fan, and is worth checking out if you're into any kind of action
movies. From the looks of it, this is probably going to be yet
another hit for Chan and Dimension/Miramax.
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Homer Yen
Homer Yen
(c) 1997
Operation Condor: More Kung Pow
Admittedly, it gets increasingly difficult to review films that star the
ebullient Jackie Chan. One film is just like another. Fortunately, each
film is as cutely entertaining as another. Like all is films, he chops,
socks, flips and somersaults with the greatest of ease. His playfulness
makes him very likable. You can't help but laugh at the cheesiness of
the dubbing; you can't help but stare in awe at the wonderfully
choreographed fight scenes; you can't help but gasp in delight and
amazement as he performs his own stunts. In this movie, you get 90
fun-filled minutes of cheesiness, awe and delight.
This latest Chan vehicle to hit the American landscape is basically a
take-off of the Raiders of the Lost Ark genre. Tons of gold, purloined
by the Nazis during WWII, sits in a secret German base buried in the
Sahara. It's up to Jackie to find it. Now, this is not a really
creative story. I mean, even Jackie Chan's character name is…uh…Jackie.
But, Chan movies are not meant to have significant depth (or any for
that matter). Watch as scenes are seemingly incongruously edited
together. Watch mysterious bad guys appear out of nowhere and pop back
up at the most awkward of moments. This is no masterpiece to be sure.
But it is the situations that Jackie finds himself in, and the
incredibly amusing way in which he gets out that is the hallmark of these
films. Jackie is also accompanied on his quest by 3 different women.
All are attractive and have a minor purpose for their inclusion, but
their roles amount to little more than fodder for more comedy and
silliness. And, there are the usual odd assortment of bandits, thugs (my
favorite rarely-used word), nazis and mercenaries that all try to get
Jackie. My feeling is that when there are more people in his films, more
fighting can happen. After all, that is what we want to see. That is
what we've come to expect. And, smartly, that is exactly what we get.
For those that have never scene the previous Chan releases (Rumble in the
Bronx, Supercop, or First Strike), this is a unique movie-going
experience, mainly because Chan is so different than the Van Dammes,
Bruce Lees or Steven Segals. Chan can fight with the best of them (if
not better), but he wants you to laugh at him and with him too. Like all
of his other movies, Jackie is a 3-ring circus of entertainment. In one
ring, we can enjoy his boyish charm. In another ring, we can see him at
the center of some amazing action-sequences and martial arts encounter.
And in the 3rd ring, we can enjoy the humor that he injects to brighten
anybody's spirit. Chan is a trapeze artist, lion tamer and clown rolled
into one. In this case, Chan and his film can be enjoyed by ladies and
gentlemen and children of all ages.
Grade: B
Michael J. Legeros
Operation Condor
A movie review by Michael J. Legeros
Copyright 1997 by Michael J. Legeros
(Dimension)
Directed by Jackie Chan
Written by Jackie Chan and Edward Tang
Cast Jackie Chan, Carol Cheng, Eva Cobo deGarcia, Ikeda
Shoko, Aldo Sanchez, Ken Lo Wai-Kwong
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 90 minutes
Reviewed at Six Forks Station Cinemas, Raleigh, NC (16JUL97)
==
The "new" Jackie Chan film has one ingenious, arguably brilliant
sequence. It happens at the end of the movie, in an old WWII wind
tunnel, built by the Nazis and buried somewhere in the Sahara, along
with a fortune in stolen gold. (240 tons worth, if you can stand it!)
Chan's character, a super-spy adventurer with the code name Condor, is
squaring off against a pair of mercenaries, two of several villains who
want the gold for themselves. The three combatants get tossed and
turned and slammed against walls and sucked toward giant propellers and,
at times, appear to hover in midair. It's a great bit that's better
lit, better paced, and more meticulously edited than any other action
sequence in the film. Alas, the rest of OPERATION CONDOR is strictly
lower-grade J.C. Wacky dubbing and frantic editing are the chief
culprits, both of which may be attributable to the repackaging process.
(Chan, who also directed, trimmed some 13 minutes from the original,
which was released as ARMOR OF GOD II in 1991.) His sense of humor is
still a strong selling point and, with a "story" that takes place on
three continents, the accompanying scenery is quite nice. I just wish
he'd staged that motorcycle sequence better. I couldn't tell if that
was him in every shot or not.
Grade: C+
--
Mike Legeros - Movie Hell
http://www.nonvirtual.com/hell
David N. Butterworth
OPERATION CONDOR
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1997 David N. Butterworth/The Summer Pennsylvanian
Rating: ** (Maltin scale)
In 1990, no longer content performing all of his own stunts, diminutive
Hong Kong martial arts star Jackie Chan took another turn at co-writing and
directing one of his own features, "The Armor of God II." Retitled and
re-released as "Operation Condor," it's the third Jackie Chan movie to
reach these shores in the past six months (following "Jackie Chan's First
Strike" and the reissued "Supercop"), and it's a decision that ultimately
proves you *can* have too much of a good thing.
Chan fans (Chan-atics?) can tell you that the plots of his movies are the
least interesting elements. Fortunately, the plot of "Operation Condor" is
a relatively simple one: Jackie battles bad guys in search of some Nazi
gold. This leaves plenty of room for what makes a Jackie Chan film worth
watching: lots of spirited, high-kicking action, a little low-brow comedy,
and plenty of stunts. In "Operation Condor," Chan the director,
recognizing his marketability as a lovable action star, gives us a
globe-trotting slapstick adventure peppered with chopsocky action
sequences, rather than the reverse.
Suffice it to say it's awfully silly.
There's a superfluous James Bondian pre-credit sequence in which
Aboriginal-like cave dwellers with picket fences on their heads chase
Jackie after he drinks their holy water. "Holy?"
There's a shoot-out in a Moroccan hotel that goes on for days, with
Jackie's demure, towel-wrapped co-operative, Ada (Carol Cheng) fighting for
her modesty. It's a testament to the film's lunacy that the worst thing
that happens to her is that it finally comes off.
And there's a finale in an underground German munitions store that makes
full use of a huge fan and some wind tunnel technical effects that grow
more jaw-droppingly ridiculous by the minute. It's as if Chan's goofy grin
isn't enough; he had to subject it to some face-changing G-forces as well.
Still, the stunts and set pieces, no matter how exhausting, are pretty
amazing as usual. Chan rides a motorcycle like it's an extension of
himself, this time crashing through a banana warehouse in an attempt to
out-maneuver his adversaries. The culminating stunt, when he leaps from
the harbor-bound cycle onto a bale of cargo being loaded onto a ship, is
almost lost in the mayhem. Fortunately Chan photographs it from two
different angles, and leaves both shots in the film! With the agility of a
springbok, Chan traverses a 10-foot high wall with an effortless, Z-shaped
leap, yet the customary end-credit outtakes illustrate just how difficult
it is to nail the landing. And to be fair, there are some very funny bits
in and among the frenetic fisticuffs, as when Jackie batters a bad guy who
is holding Ada in front of him as a shield.
The obligatory babe role is played by not one, but three!, winsome
charmers. The aforementioned Ada. A Brigitte Nielsen-styled blonde (Eva
Cobo DeGarcia), who happens to be the grand-daughter of the German officer
who buried the hoard of bullion at the end of the war. And a dum-dum with
a pet scorpion called Ding Ding, played by a squeaky Shoko Ikeda. By the
time these bubbleheads form an alliance and start beating up on the doltish
opposition, it's like watching a female version of the Three Stooges.
The film's reworked title, by the way, is every bit as meaningless as the
plot. Ada very briefly refers to Jackie as "Condor" during the mission's
initial setup--blink and you'll miss it--but for all the thought that went
into that decision the movie could have gone by "Operation White-Throated
Grebe." In "Operation Condor," as it turned out, Jackie's motto is "Expect
the worst. Hope for the best." While this principle holds true for almost
any Jackie Chan movie, his latest effort falls precariously somewhere in
between.
--
David N. Butterworth
d...@mail.med.upenn.edu
Steve Kong
OPERATION CONDOR (1997)
A film review by Steve Kong
Copyright 1997 Steve Kong
"Had enough?" Asks the bad guy.
"HAHAHAHA...NO!" Replies Jackie.
Released in 1990, Operation Condor was originally released over-seas as The
Armor of Gods 2:Operation Condor. But seeing the original is not important,
Condor is a self-contained story.
Dimensions Film has put together a new English dubbing and soundtrack for
the US release of the film. This is along with a few edits here and there.
Unlike the previous three Jackie Chan releases (Rumble in the Bronx,
Supercop, and First Strike), which were directed by Stanley Tong, Jackie
Chan is directing, writing, and starring in Operation Condor. Also
different from the previous three releases, Operation Condor has a
different feel to it.
Jackie Chan plays an agent for the UN named Jackie, but code-named Condor.
After a spectacular opening sequence, which is a hilarious parody of the
opening sequence to the first Indiana Jones film, the UN calls Jackie.
There is a stash of gold buried somewhere in the Sahara by some Nazis. The
Nazis stole the gold during World War 2 and buried it at the end of the war
just as they were losing the war. To tag along with Jackie is Ada, a
beautiful Chinese liaison who knows about the gold. But along the way the
grand daughter of the leader of the Nazi group that buried the gold joins
them. Also joining is a Japanese woman who has a pet scorpion.
Jackie and group are battling two groups of men trying to get to the gold
also. But, as most of us know, we don't go to see a Jackie Chan film for
plot and character development. We see Jackie films for action, and there
is plenty of action in Operation Condor. The action consists mostly of
fighting scenes that are all well choreographed and highly entertaining.
There is also the crazy, funny, and silly comedy for which Jackie has the
perfect timing for. Most of the times the comedy will leave a silly grin on
you face.
Of all the re-released Jackie films in the US, this one is the one with the
most action. It is also the one that is most quirky. The film switches
moods quickly and abruptly, but, doing this well. It can go from dead
serious to slapstick comedy in the snap of a finger.
Operation Condor is a funny movie with lots of spectacular action. It is
also a film you'll want to see on the big screen. So, go see it. And don't
leave right when the credits roll because you'll miss the outtakes.
--
steve kong
boi...@earthlink.net
spy on me at: http://mookie.relay.net/mookie/steve-cam.html
movie reviews: http://hardboiled.home.ml.org/
Jesse Kaplan
OPERATION CONDOR A Film Review By Jesse A. Kaplan
Cast: Jackie Chan,Jackie Carol, Do Do Cheng, Eva Cobo, Shoko Ikeda, Aldo
Sanchez
Directed By Jackie Chan
The newest of Hong Kong, and world Superstar Jackie Chan's (RUMLE IN
THE BRONX, SUPERCOP) movies has arrived to the US. Operation condor
definately rates as one of his best. Not since RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, has
Chan delieved the amount of fighting and humor the American Audiences.
Basically in this story, Chan plays a hing kong special agent named
Jackie. He needs to find a lot of gold that the nazi's left in the
Sahara desert in which many a shady character are trying to get their
hands on. If you think there are references to all of the INDIANA JONES
sagas, you are right on. However the plot means nothing as we come
looking for the action.
Chan fights through hotels, the desert, underground castles, and wind
tunnel in this one boys and girls. As only Jackie Chan can do, he uses
any weapon available, let it be either a scorpion or a towel. OPERAION
CONDOR is great fun and and great action as Chan mixes funny humor with
amazing kung-fu. Of course there are outtakes at the end so stay tuned
for them.
"Have you had enough?"
"HA HA HA HA.....NO!!"
*** out of 4
**** = A must see film.
*** = Excellent show. Look for it.
** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable.
* = Poor show. Don't waste your money.
0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
Copyright 1997 pal...@mhv.net Jesse A. Kaplan