L'arme au poing

Aging stars try to cash in before the new 1980s action landscape changes it all. Featuring a fickle Sophia Loren, this movie lacks any real passion from its actors - whether it's romance or anger. The actors don't seem to feel anything no matter if they are betrayed, shot, or blowing bad guys up. The signature traits of each actor is missing for some reason: Loren minus the allure. Colburn minus the physicality, Wallach minus the menace. Some great character actors but they don't have enough to work with. The result of pushing out product after Jaws And Star Wars brought broad appeal back to the box office.

A truly epic cast of Hollywood heavyweights descend upon the idyllic backdrop of St Lucia, in a meandering action-thriller concerning a widow (Loren) who hires reputable mercenary Coburn to search for those responsible for her husband's assassination.

A galaxy of mega-stars blur the lines between allies and enemies, the intricate plot twists hatch an array of ruses, red herrings and cross and double cross subplots with which it's sometimes difficult to keep pace. Apparent continuity errors don't help the situation, but the undeniable charisma of the cast is hard not to like. OJ and Coburn make a watchable pairing, whilst bona fide stars Wallach and Mature are largely confined to bit parts, or in Mature's case, a solitary cameo lasting little more than 30 seconds. Bad guys Franciosa and Grizzard are potentially the highlights in the deep and diverse international cast.

Winner's trademark quick cuts, comic-book characters, pyrotechnics and opulent set design allied with Lord Grade's penchant for big names and lavish locations, create a colourful 70s aesthetic which admittedly is pure hokum, and yet never dull nor tedious.

Director Michael Winner was a very consistent director. His movies were almost always bad. Winner had a lazy style that always bothered me. He just seems to place his camera with very little thought. Getting good performances form his usually strong cast doesn't seem to concern him either. Winner's "Firepower" checks all of those boxes. "Firepower" has a good cast but it's none of their finest hours. The standout being a dreamy Sophia Loren. Loren has seldom looked better. The action is well staged, for the most part, but it's also boring. The tropical locations are nice and I'm sure the cast had a great time at whatever resort they were staying at. As far as "Firepower" goes, it's a borderline camp classic.

Sophia Loren sees her husband's chemist lab blown to smithereens with him inside; turns out he was murdered after threatening to expose a case of contaminated pharmaceuticals that cause cancer to anyone taking them. She goes to the FBI, whose top operative hopes to lure bounty hunter/hit man James Coburn out of retirement to bring in a reclusive, crooked billionaire, while Sophia wants him to help avenge her husband's death; she may also have known Coburn intimately at one time...or is that his twin brother she once romanced? Director Michael Winner isn't very adept at working with actors, and yet at this point in his career he became very popular with past-their-prime talents still looking to make a buck. Nobody involved in "Firepower" comes off looking good, particularly a bloat-bellied Coburn. Busy film jets across the globe in search of new plot points, but all of its action is stodgy or stilted. Too bad, this cast in these exotic locations might have made for a delicious, tawdry action-flick. Unfortunately, Winner (who also co-originated the story) doesn't have a sense of his own absurdity, and shows a robotic sense of humor. *1/2 from ****

Sophia Loren is out for revenge and the FBI wants to get one of the world's richest men who is a Howard Hughes like recluse. This guy put out a hit on her husband who was blown up in a laboratory with a mail bomb. What to do, but call in the FBI in the person of Vincent Gardenia.

But getting the Hughes like gazillionaire ain't easy so the FBI calls in a consultation with the Mafia as represented by Eli Wallach. Lots of Firepower will be needed, but even more brains. The best guy for the job is independent contractor James Coburn who sets out to storm the rich guy's fortress on Antigua.

The nice Caribbean location and the chance to see a few movie names are the only reason to see this ridiculous action thriller. Both Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson turned this one down and poor James Coburn was left holding the bag. Bronson, who worked with director Michael Winner on any number of projects, left this cold, so you know he was hearing the faint sounds of Thanksgiving.

Even Anthony Franciosa, one of the most underrated players ever, looks ridiculous in this as the doctor feel good to the rich and reclusive. Add to that Billy Barty as a midget mob boss and you get the idea how ridiculous this one is.

Unless you like all the stars like I do and want to see O.J. Simpson get what's coming to him, stay away from Firepower.