CIA: nom de code Alexa

This is really really bad. Lamas shows just how a second rate actor does his job. But what makes it worth watching is the scene where OJ angrily grabs a fellow cop by the throat as if to kill them while the jukebox plays a song with the lyric "I got the evidence on you!". (Makes me want to hear the rest of the lyrics - attributed to David Gregoli and Leslie Oren but i couldn't find it on iTunes). Talk about seeing into the future...Too funny for words. The rest of the movie is forgettable. The score and songs are more interesting than the script. Ditto the sequel. Which begs the question of why they would do a sequel at all. My understanding was that foreign sales drives a lot of these B movies. Doesn't say much for the world's viewing habits.

Lorenzo Lamas stars as some type of CIA agent, who captures some exotic beauty named Alexa, kidnaps her daughter and forces her to fight her former employers. O.J Simpson is also on board to provide a dash of acting credibility for the not so talented ensemble. I must admit i'm not a fan of Lorenzo Lamas, or his movies. He stinks. However when compared to O.J Simpson and Lamas' comatose wife Kinmont, Lamas seems like ah, Jean-Claude Van Damme. I only saw CIA because of the renewed interest around the O.J Simpson trial, you see because if your parents had cable and the extra channels, you couldn't escape this movie. in 1994 you could go to an Amish community and some moron would have this playing in their portable TV. The movie itself is a collection of lame action sequences and would be intrigue although the shock value of O.J Simpson jumping after fireballs and exchanging would be one liners do provide some unintentional humor. Also where was Bobby Knight and Kobe Bryant to make this a complete camp classic?

* out of 4-(Bad)

CIA special agent Graver (Lorenzo Lamas) wants the killer Alexa (Kathleen Kinmont) to become a double agent and support him in his fight against the villain Mahler (veteran actor Alex Cord). Alexa only joins the fight against the bad guy after her daughter is taken hostage (by Graver, respectively the "good guys"!). Strange methods that agents working for the government are using these days - or is it just that movies don't carry conviction anymore? Anyhow, this average action movie has a few (violent) memorable moments after all, I vote 4/10.

The first of the two "Alexa" movies that Lorenzo Lamas and Kathleen Kinmont made in the mid-90s is thoroughly routine in all aspects, except one: the exemplary handling of Kinmont's action role. As a former terrorist recruited by the CIA to help them retrieve a micro-chip with nuclear capabilities, Alexa is tough, no-nonsense and efficient but hasn't completely lost her humanity, and Kinmont has the right body, moves and attitude for the role. This film has a few of the best female action scenes I've ever seen in a low-budget American film. Other than that, there is nothing here that you haven't seen before: Lamas' most notable acting effort is to whisper ALL of his lines, O. J. Simpson plays a cop whose partner got killed in the line of duty, and the villain has (wouldn't you know it?) a foreign accent. See it for Kinmont or don't see it at all. (**)

Lorenzo Lamas' wife (at the time of this movie!) Kathleen Kinmont does a better job of co-starring with Lorenzo here than she did in Renegade (TV series) and gets quite a lot of screen time. She plays an East European spy/assassin and actually suits the brown hair. Fans of Lamas will not be put out as there is his usual martial arts action on show. Kathleen also strikes out in this film more than all her fights in Renegade combined. The plot is perhaps a little more complex than other Lorenzo offerings due to the "Thriller" aspect of the spy plot - but it is still basically an action film. A sequel was released 2 years later "CIA II Target: Alexa", but i liked this original one for the action sequences and storyline. A good entry in Lorenzo's B-movie action flicks.