Although Burt Reynolds detested OPERATION CIA, his first starring turn fresh from sidekick TV-roles on RIVERBOAT and GUNSMOKE, he would often brag more about his past stuntwork than any recent acting, so there's actually a lot to be proud of in this B&W programmer miraculously filmed right in Saigon, Vietnam, right before the real life war...
Replacing a slain agent, something straight from the James Bond universe, Burt's CIA-operative Mark Andrews is either fighting woodwork villains, from exploitation regular Vic Diaz to a karate-chopping massage girls, or dodging main baddie (bonafide stuntman) Bill Catching...
And like any spy flick, the dames are something else... like Canadian blonde/BIKINI BEACH babe Danielle Aubry playing French, or the insanely gorgeous Kieu Chinh, steadily at Burt's side for most of the fast-paced adventure...
Directed by always-capable Christian Nyby, OPERATION CIA is more straight action than the kind of espionage or thriller built into the title, and, although Burt's looped voice lacks the gleaming spark of his later years, he looks great, particularly during the final act, sprinting (and leaping) from one side of the genuinely exotic Asian location to the other.
