F comme Flint

MASTER PLAN: take over an orbiting space platform, have the nukes ready and use mind control - again. In this sequel to "Our Man Flint," a further parody of the James Bond films, the threat is again a weird organization which plans to rule the world. In the previous Flinter, 3 scientists led the new way; here, it's 3 captains of industry who happen to be female. They also have an island base, somewhere in the Caribbean (the Virgin Islands?) - females, females everywhere! Flint is again played by Coburn as a super-smooth genius who seems to play the secret agent as a side job, called away from his Hugh Hefner-style existence into spy activity when something really unusual rears its nasty head. In this case, he doesn't show up until 15 minutes in, to save the bacon of his former boss (Cobb), who has been discredited and embarrassed in a scheme perpetrated by traitors within the U.S. government. All of this sounds kind of serious and some of it is, especially in the final act, where-in straightforward action goes against the grain of the overall satirical tone. A lot of it is still silly, of course, especially the scenes of Coburn imitating dolphin sounds (I can't believe Coburn was talked into these). The pace is a bit slower than the first film, mostly with all the stuff revolving around Cobb's character getting bamboozled in the early going. It takes awhile for the action to get going. The main femme fatale (Hale) lacks some spark, sort of playing the role as if this was a dull daytime soap opera. The actress Craig, known for her Batgirl role, pops up briefly as another femme fatale, Russian in her case. No sign of Adam West, who would've fit in well here.

The premise proposed by the villains, as in the first film, is that the world needs to be run better; in this case, they feel the planet needs a more feminine touch - a new matriarchy. Though there's the expected glitz and camp of sixties psychedelia, the femme fatales (and there are many of them) are not a total joke; they're pretty well organized and make some valid points, though even Flint appears to sneer at their goals. This is ironic since he, at one point, says he doesn't compete with women, the inferred downside of most men. This foreshadows the reveal of the actual threat, a rogue military - male, of course. The main traitor turns out to be a general (played by actor Ihnat, who would soon be seen as the crazed Garth in the Star Trek episode "Whom Gods Destroy" with actress Craig). None of this is a surprise - the general looked suspicious in his first scene. The President of the U.S., who kept calling on a red phone in the previous pic, is now revealed (Duggan), but is quickly replaced by a double early in the story. Some of this also recalls the "Seven Days in May" thriller done up as comedy. The film is a bit too long, having a padded feel at some points: Flint has an exciting running fight with the soldiers towards the end, but he's captured anyway, so the whole thing was just an excuse to show off his martial arts. The ending is awkward, unlike the explosive conclusion in the first one: the filmmakers had to figure out a way to get Flint into outer space and it's done clumsily. The outer space theme, reflecting the space race between the U.S. and the Soviets of that time, was also prevalent in that same year's Bonder "You Only Live Twice." Flint would return in another incarnation in a TV Movie in the seventies. Hero:7 Villains:6 Femme Fatales:6 Henchmen:5 Fights:7 Stunts/Chases:7 Gadgets:6 Auto:4 Locations:6 Pace:6 overall:6

Coburn goes way way over the top in ILF. In OMF he plays Flint as someone who is 'sort of real' ... for example, when Cramden asks him, "Is there nothing you don't know?" "A great many things, sir." In the fight sequences, they are also played 'not campy' ... the fight in the bathroom ... it's more fun when it looks somewhat real, and when the toilet paper and grunt of Gruber comes at the scene's end, it's the right touch.

The same with the fight with the two guards outside Cramden's office. Great stuff. I think Coburn's style influenced Bruce Lee ... or other way around? If Coburn did OMF in 1965 or so, and he met Lee a couple of years later (I'm not certain) .... And after the fight, the comedy is just right; a blend of silliness (the light bulb) and straightness, with Flint saving a life.

Notice also when Cramden is darted, and Flint doesn't mug when he does the cut.

But in the sequel, Coburn is all over the place, over-mugging. While most of the credit for the downsizing of Flint goes to the writers, Coburn also has to take some blame. There is hardly an action scene where he plays Flint like a fighting master ... just for laffs. Again, counter this with OMF : when he climbs the ladder with the guitar rift, happily Coburn doesn't wink and mug. With that great music, it would've ruined the scene(s).

However, the scene in the penthouse, with Flint talking about eating grubs is the Flint form the first movie.

The director should have seen this. Or maybe Coburn thought the script was so dumb, he just let loose and had his own jokes. But Flint loses his fun when it became too much Austin Powers.

Btw, the Powers movies would have been much better if they had been played as a homage to Flint/Bond. That's what OMF did so well. Created a great character with the perfect actor to play him.

But even tho ILF is so inferior to the first, it's still a lot of fun. How can I say this? Because he's still Flint!

Well it looks like I'm in a minority with this one as I think 'In Like Flint' is better than 'Our Man Flint'! It's goofier than the original and for me that makes it more entertaining. It's filled with silly stuff like exploding golf balls, brainwashing via hairdryers, Flint talking fluent dolphin and Lee J. Cobb in drag. It's similar in approach to the 'Batman' TV series (Yvonne "Batgirl" Craig even appears as a Russian ballerina) so if you enjoy that show, and yes, Austin Powers, you'll have lots of fun.

Basically another in the endless series of Bond-knockoffs of the late 60's, the second Flynt movie (for some reason I keep missing the first one) is fun enough as a semi-parody. It's nowhere nearly as offensive/dumb as the Matt Helm stuff. Coburn makes a decent superman spy, although his lanky physique makes him look rather ungainly in the fight sequences (only Ted Danson looks more awkward). It's your basic Cold War type movie with some women who want to rule the world (and *oh the humanity* are betrayed by the military man they put their trust in, played by a fiendish Steve Inhat) tossed in.

If you ever wondered about how the film series like Austin Powers came to be inspired, James Coburn does a memorable performance as Flint, original man of mystery in this film. The film is a spoof and farce from the James Bond spy thrillers. The plot includes the world being overthrown and manipulated by smart beautiful seductive women on a Caribbean Island where their leader is played by Anna Lee (General Hospital's beloved Lila Quartermaine). She is fantastic in her role. The film is a comedy and a statement about women's movement. The ending is now considered to be outdated by today's standards almost camp humor. Still, James Coburn did some of his best acting work here as the hero. The film is colorful and imaginative as well.