"Operation Condor" falls far short of the mark of Jackie Chan's older films, such as "Drunken Master II."
The film -- originally released in Hong Kong as "Armour of God II" in 1990 -- is Chan's latest U.S.-released action film and was written and directed by the renown martial arts star himself. But compared to his U.S. releases of years past, this one is painful to watch.
This is not to say Chan's newer films have all been duds. His most noticeable recent film, "Supercop," did not receive the attention of its predecessor "Rumble in the Bronx," although a variety of creatively interwoven action sequences make it a superior film.
More recently, Chan has hit a slump in the United States.
"Operation Condor" is perhaps the most spectacular dud to date, far outstripping any Chan movie released in the United States in terms of sheer bad quality. The acting is lackluster, the plot is threadbare and the action sequences are poorly conceived and executed.
The film begins with Chan's character -- named, creatively enough, Jackie -- attempting to steal an idol from some natives with funny hats in some undisclosed remote region of the world. To escape the dopey savages, Chan inflates a large rubber ball, climbs inside and rolls himself off of a mountain.
This brilliant and introspective scene more or less sets the tone for the whole movie, which is a poorly blended amalgam of "Lawrence of Arabia," "Indiana Jones" and old Warner Brothers cartoons, minus the excitement, drama and humor.
Following his exploitative escapade with the tribal buffoons, Chan goes to Spain where it is revealed that he is (surprise!) a top super-secret agent for the Spanish government.
Chan discovers that the Nazis hid tons and tons of gold somewhere in the Sahara desert. As to why the Nazis elected not to spend that gold when they needed it late in 1944, or as to why they hid it in the Sahara in the first place is not discussed, presumably to save the viewer the trouble of thinking.
It is Chan's mission to recover the gold, and he sets off for Africa, following an awkwardly directed scene in which he becomes acquainted with the attractive and feisty daughter of the Nazi who commanded the gold storage facility played by Eva Cobo.
Of course the buxom young lass wants tag along with Chan, as well as an uppity and equally attractive woman assigned as Chan's partner.
Lots of kooky misadventures ensue when funny Arab terrorists in turbans and sunglasses arbitrarily pop up in Chan's hotel.
Naturally, the women are showering when the gun-toting Arabs show up, and Chan's method of dispatching his opponents is taking off his partners' towels and then kicking the terrorists in the groin while they are busy ogling.
Later, the wacky trio is joined by a Japanese girl played by Shoko Ikeda and her pet scorpion "Fifi," whom they find wandering along the desert for no apparent reason.
Chan's expedition finds the hidden base where the gold has been stashed, only to discover that an ex-Nazi played by Aldo Sanchez is leading a pack of brigands is hot on his tail, in addition to the turban-and-sunglass sporting Arabs. Guess who wins.
The only scene in the movie of any merit takes place in a wind tunnel in the Nazi stronghold where Chan has to contend with the shifting air current created by the powerful fans in the tunnel as well as bloodthirsty Nazis.
However, this scene comes so late in the movie that its effect is entirely lost on the viewer.
All in all, those who wish to see this film would be better advised to simply burn seven dollars and save themselves the agonizing two hours of sitting through "Operation Condor."
