I pirati della Malesia

Malaysian pirate Sandokan (Steve Reeves) and his brave men attempt to rescue Princess Hada of Sarawak (Jacqueline Sassard), and her father, the maharajah (Giuseppe Addobbati), from evil British invaders.

It seems strange that, for a man whose USP was his muscular build, Steve Reeves mostly covers up his impressive pecs and bulging biceps in The Pirates of Malaysia (often opting for a shirt tied in a knot at the front, Daisy Duke style - how fetching!). This leaves much of the film reliant on Reeve's acting prowess, which is a mistake: he's not terrible, but neither is he Larry Olivier (and he's definitely not fooling anyone as a Malaysian).

Director Umberto Lenzi tries to compensate for the lack of 'body beautiful' by cramming in as much swashbuckling fun as he can, with several prolonged action set-pieces: a skirmish in a tavern, a battle on a steamboat, an escape from a salt mine, and the climactic fight in and around a mountain-top monastery. These scenes provide Lenzi's stuntmen with plenty of opportunity to throw and receive punches, fall from heights, and act like they've been shot or stabbed, but it's not particularly well staged or all that exciting, especially since Sandokan is clearly indestructible and his enemy are prone to dropping like flies.

There is some fun to be had from the dubious casting, most notably the European cast playing Asian characters, with several actors 'blacking up' for their roles in unconvincing manner (why they didn't get Asian actors to play the supporting Malaysian pirates is beyond me). And being English myself, I had to laugh at the villains of the piece, thoroughly despicable Brits who think nothing of tying up innocent men for crocodiles to feast upon or burying someone alive. We English are pure evil (although, once again, the characters are played by Europeans: a Spaniard and an Italian).

5/10. An unexceptional adventure - passable entertainment, but unlikely to remain in the memory for long.