Come rubare un quintale di diamanti in Russia

the dubbing is atrocious! the acting is appalling! this is a genuinely bad movie, and i enjoyed every minute. the 'x-ray' scene is out of this world. also, it is no surprise that two of the actors in this film also have worked in (bad) westerns. very impressive.

while nearly every aspect of this cinematic oeuvre is too far-fetched to be in any way plausible, it is somehow rather endearing. the soundtrack is replete with spy tunes including a swingy, reappearing Russian folk melody reminiscent of 'meadowlands,' and a smattering of snazzy bossa nova numbers.

check out the killer costumes.

it's true that there are characters who speak no lines, and the female characters are as shallow and one-dimensional as the male characters.

This Spanish film (I'm reviewing the English-dubbed version, MISSION PHANTOM) is a enjoyable spoof of the many international "caper" films of the 1960s, where a ragtag band of colorful characters from different countries and backgrounds are brought together to pull of some "impossible" heist in a well-guarded place with amazing security. It is played for laughs, yet at the same time IS an intriguing heist pulled off in a creative way. The cast includes Fernando Sancho and Eduardo Fajardo--two men best known in the US for VERY different kinds of roles in European westerns (Sancho usually as a colorful Mexican bandido, Fajardo usually as a sadistic town boss or gang leader). No classic, but an enjoyable way to kill 90 minutes on a rainy day.

I just watched this during the shut down and found Ingrid Schoeller the most intriguing of the entire cast. All the other cast members are far too familiar to be the slightest bit interesting. Just the same old tried and true caper movie. Slightly entertaining but little else.