Seven

Watching some of Andy Sidaris' cheesy flicks of the late 70's and early 80's, you'd never know the man was a visionary in the sports television medium and a 7-time Emmy winner who directed the Olympics, Wide World of Sports and some of the early NFL telecasts. That said, "Seven" represents one of his better contributions to the B-movie genre. It boasts great scenery and the obligatory bevy of scantily-clad women that characterize a Sidaris film. And it's a treat for fans of William Smith, one of the most accomplished character actors of all time, who receives top billing and features him in the unfamiliar but welcome role of good guy.

Freelance mercenary Drew Savano (Smith) is called in by a government agent to wipe out mobsters bent on taking over the state of Hawaii. For a fee of $7 million dollars, Savano assembles seven specialists (hence the title), each with a different talent, to take on the mission. Though it takes a bit long for us to be introduced to each character and assigned their individual targets, it's worth the wait to watch just how these specialists- The Dragster, The Professor, The Indian, The Playmate, The Cowboy, The Comic, The Black Belt- will take out their quarry.

This movie won't remind anyone of Hamlet. Laughable dialog and various unconvincing characters (looking at Ed Parker with his bad hair and pot belly you'd never know the guy was a martial arts legend) make this more tongue-in-cheek than anything else, but it's just this approach- it's a "B" movie after all- that makes "Seven" an enjoyable watch. Lenny Montana, Art Medrano and Reggie Nalder are among the notable character actors lending their talents to "Seven". There's gorgeous former Playmate Susan Kiger and actress Barbara Leigh in bikinis for most of the movie. And Kwan Hi Lim, who seemingly appeared in every Hawaiian/Polynesian/Asian themed show covering two decades, skillfully portrays his usual oily villain.

Fun stuff from Andy Sidaris. Seven stars for "Seven"!

The movie is a lot of fun with plenty of over the top and almost comical death scenes combined with wonderful scenery of almost every variety. William Smith, as good guy assassin team leader Drew Savano, was very likable with his ability of conveying a natural charismatic leadership presence. A quiet confidence, if you will. As more or less the leading lady Barbara Leigh was also good as the hot Alexa who has a pretty weird scene with the creepy "Hermit" played well by Veteran Reggie Nalder. Barbara by this time no longer possesses the transcendent beauty that she enjoyed in the Junior Bonner days, but is still a foxy lady in this one. The rest of the cast and story is also terrific which ads up to a fine "B' movie for Mr. Sidaris.

This was Andy Sidaris' second film, and it follows the formula for all the ones that followed: spectacular scenery, even more spectacular women in various and frequent stages of nudity, good action scenes, goofy humor. The plot is about seven mobsters who get together and decide to take over Hawaii, and the government agent assigned to stop them. It's good to see big William Smith playing a good guy, and he seems to be enjoying himself (there's one scene, apparently unscripted but which Sidaris left in, where Smith is sitting, clothed, in a shower room and a gorgeous naked woman appears out of nowhere, sits down next to him and stares at him; Smith obviously wasn't expecting it and bursts out laughing, then looks offstage and shakes his head, as if to say, "Okay, you got me"). The cast is stocked with veteran character actors--Nick Georgiade, Art Metrano, Reggie Nalder--and everyone seems to be having a good time. So will you. It's a fun movie to watch. Pick it up if you can.

The almighty William Smith stars in this ingratiating action flick from cult filmmaker Andy Sidaris, known to his fans for following an exploitation film formula to the letter. Bill Smith plays Drew Savano, a loose-cannon government agent who recruits a seven-person team for the purpose of eliminating the criminal element that are poised to take over the state of Hawaii. His team includes Alexa (Barbara Leigh, "Junior Bonner"), the Cowboy (Guich Koock, "North Dallas Forty"), T.K. (Christopher Joy, "Sheba, Baby"), Kincella (Art Metrano, "Police Academy" 2 and 3), martial artist Ed Parker ("Curse of the Pink Panther"), playing a man named Ed Parker, and the "Professor" (Richard LePore, 'Switch'). Each team member is assigned to a different criminal figure.

Since we're discussing Andy Sidaris here, it hardly needs be said that among the assets involved are beautiful island scenery, equally gorgeous women who sometimes take off their tops, lots of action, and a generous dose of humour to let us know that this is all in fun, and that none of this is ever meant to be taken that seriously.

This viewer personally loves stories of the "assembling characters for a mission" variety, and Drew is there to narrate and therefore talk our way through the plot, giving us essential information. It's quite an engaging example of this sort of story, with excellent pacing and a fair amount of hard-hitting violence. Plus, it's not entirely unrealistic in the way that the mission won't go 100% smoothly.

Bright, sunny photography by a D.P. identified only as "Quito", and a vibrant music score (which may be stock music since there's no composer credited) help to make this superior entertainment. The aforementioned sense of humour extends to the movies' most memorable gag, when a hero eliminates a sword-wielding villain by simply shooting him, the same gag later made famous in "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

A rich assortment of familiar faces - Reggie Nalder ('Salem's Lot' '79), Seth Sakai ('Hawaii Five-O'), Lenny Montana ("The Godfather"), Martin Kove ("The Karate Kid"), Terry Kiser ("Weekend at Bernie's"), John Alderman ("New Year's Evil"), and Tadashi Yamashita ("American Ninja") - further adds to the good vibes.

Classic exploitation entertainment, and one of Sidaris' best efforts.

Eight out of 10.

I just want to say that since 1979 when I first saw this movie I have been searching for it to buy. I loved everything about it at the time and still think the campy feel to it was what made me remember it so easily. I remembered the stars, the director, and the plot line. Very cheesy but if you love that in an older movie you will really like this. So if I ever find this movie be sure I will add it to my collection.