My review was written in September 1984 after watching the movie on a video cassette screener copy.
"Chrisitna" is the third, and least interesting, of the European-made featurefilms from producer Harry Alan Towers, created for the Playboy Channel and various overseas theatrical and home video distributors. Softcore opus features plenty of nudity, spotlighting attractive women, but not much more.
Bookended by threats of numerous sequels, pic limns the adventures of Christina (Jewel Shepard), a jetset playgirl and publishing empire heiress, who has a habit of being kidnapped for ransom. In fact, this episodi film consists solely of bad guys (and bad girls) nabbing her, having their way with her and then losing her to another antisocial group.
Along the way, Christina has a run-in with several femme veterans of Towers-Playboy's "Black Venus" film, but the ensuing martial arts fights by women are embarrassingly fake, as are director Paco Lara's cheaply staged action-and-chase sequences. Though pacing is much sprightlier than the average sex film, this exercise in voyeurism remains stillborn.
Having replaced first choice Monique Gabrielle (the memorable dream nude of "Bachelor Party") in the title role, Shepard displays a beautiful body and a toothy grin, but (partly due to weak material) creates no character meriting one's ongoing interest, whether or not the series of additional films materializes.
Pic's oddest touch is the recurring device (a la "Alice in Wonderland") of Christina falling asleep when in danger, cuing goofball dream sequences in which gloved hands roll Tinkertoy-size cars across her nude body. Domestically, pic might have had theatrical chances as a programmer but onde again, Towers has opted for unacceptably haphazard dubbing, even thouth the actors articulate in English.
