Jaguar Lives!

I had first recorded this off late-night Italian TV but, thankfully, had not yet checked the movie out before it turned up in English: a vague James Bond rip-off in which the protagonist (one Joe Lewis) happens to be a martial arts expert – for the record, the two styles had already clashed, far more successfully, in Bruce Lee's last-completed and best vehicle i.e. ENTER THE DRAGON (1973). Even if the producers of this one were wily enough to recruit a roster of co-stars – no fewer than 5 of whom had appeared in previous Bond extravaganzas (Barbara Bach, John Huston, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence and Joseph Wiseman)! – the result is, while not boring, hardly thrilling, in spite their being practically no let-up to the action!!

Incidentally, much is made of the mysterious identity of the chief villain (at least, they had the good sense to not cast an established actor in the role – who would have invariably blown the hero out of the water in that department!) when the pre-credits sequence gives this away all-too-plainly!! Lewis' "sensei" is Woody Strode and, among his adversaries, is Capucine (who, having failed to dispatch the "Jaguar" herself, later calls on Lee and insists to be informed when this is finally accomplished!); the latter, however, displays an admirable code of ethics when he lets Lewis go after he has repeatedly defeated his goons inside a Japanese cemetery! Wiseman plays blind and Huston (amusingly, his character is named Ralph Richards!) wheelchair-bound, so that only Pleasence has fun as the self-appointed but – inevitably – cowardly dictator of a banana republic.

As I said, the action highlights (personally choreographed by the leading man) are not exactly ground-breaking and too often merely silly – at one point, he takes on a gang of motorcycle thugs, not to mention the various minions at a factory, whom he overcomes not via his usual karate moves but by throwing every kind of accessory which comes his way at any approaching assailant!; then again, it must be pointed out that director Pintoff had started out in animation. The film, at the very least looks good – helped in no small measure by the globe-trotting nature of the plot – but, atypically, Lewis proves oddly resistant to female company (save for ex-colleague Sally Faulkner, who has improbably forsaken espionage for a nun's habit!). The concluding moments show the protagonist once again having his training sessions interrupted by the arrival of agent Bach…but, unsurprisingly, no sequel ever surfaced (or was likely ever commissioned, though the star would in fact return to the big screen for FORCE: FIVE {1981}, directed by ENTER THE DRAGON's own Robert Clouse!).

During a mission a secret agent called Jaguar loses his partner in a explosion. So after the disaster he goes back to his sensei to continue his training. But after a while he is called back on a mission involving that of a international drug dealer that might have had a hand in his friend / partner's death. This leads Jaguar on a whirlwind trip across the glob, where he encounters many foes before he confronts his main man.

I wasn't expecting too much, but I was pleasantly surprised in what I got from this b-grade romp. It's your typical textbook James Bond adventure with the agent travelling around the world to many exotic locations, gathering information on a villain he's tracking down. But our secret agent here Jonathan Cross - Code name Jaguar; has a speciality in martial arts, which he demonstrates on those who get in his way. While, the big scale production and story shares some familiarity to a Bond film, also the stars play a high influence to that factor. You got Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence, Joseph Wiseman and Barbara Bach making up the cast with some nifty performances. Ironically, they themselves have starred in a Bond film. It's just too bad that they have very little to do here with their meagre roles. Other notables making up the well-known cast include Woody Strode, Capucine, John Huston, Anthony De Longis and an enticing Sally Faulkner in some sexy lingerie. Man, just looking at the names - it should have been a blinder. Kickboxing expert Joe Lewis as Jaguar delivers the goods in the moves, but his overall acting performance is rather wooden. In the end the cast like this is simply wasted.

"Jaguar Lives" at times is an exciting escapism story that's filled with some cartoon like characters and a sizzling verve of precise and intense action scenes. The rollicking martial art scenes seem to feed off the story rather then being just senseless mayhem. Well, that might be a plus, but sometimes there was just too much talk where there could have been some vigorous activity. But when the action did kick in, the tempo was staged with supreme skill and impressive set pieces - just like the fitting climax battle. The jam-packed story which the film follows real closely is an convoluted mess with many illogical steps, but it's basically working itself up to the final confrontation. And when it came to providing us the main villain's identity, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone. I found it to get incredibly better and more intriguing the further along it went. The script is terribly blunt and quite forced, although there's an ample amount of wit found throughout (even though it doesn't always come off). Since the agent travels high and low that means there's quite a change of scenery with some astonishing locations and the sublime photography is professionally set-up with many creative and brisk manoeuvring shots. The fruitful score is an energy charged belter that gives out that groovy 70s twang in neat short pockets.

At best a cheesy time-waster that's filled with a mish-mash of ideas and comic book heroics within it's martial arts background.

This flick has one of the most incredible casts ever assembled for a B-movie! You've got Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence (fresh from "Halloween"), Barbara Bach (former Bond Girl), Woody Strode (those who've seen "Spartacus" aren't likely to have forgotten him), Capucine (Inspector Clouseau's wife in "Pink Panther"), even the legendary director John Huston (not his first useless supporting role; remember "Tentacles"?). Unfortunately, none of those performers get a chance to stand out and do anything memorable, the story is confusing (although the main villain's "hidden" identity is easy to guess) and karate expert Lewis, who stars, knows all the right moves but has little acting charisma. (*1/2)

This film has never really cut it for me. Although there's a lot of action, it's forgettable or it just doesn't captivate us, and never really lives up to what could been. It falls below the ranks of being a memorable if kind of dry actioner, which wastes a great cast, including a smaller part by an Aussie actor who does the voice over for the very same VHS company who brought out this forgettable film, whose cover poster of our hunky actor lead, is no less than engaging. And of course, you're not expecting a feat of acting chops. Again, more brawn than brain. This is a film that just seems to run a limited course, and falls short many times. Even in it's exciting and promising start (perpetual lasting explosions have never been more beautiful) it gives in too easy, where promising suspense is killed. The film keeps running short on things, unhelped by bad editing, if working on a short budget. Out hunky Lewis, code name Jaguar, who's betrayed at the start, is enlisted to take down an international drug dealer. The great Christopher Lee is one of the few highlights of the film, and Cappucine, plays a great vilanness, but bottom line, this is just a forgettable film. Even with Jaguar claiming arse kicking revenge, we're hardly moved or riveted. Jaguar, certainly a force to be reckoned, won't live on in the mind of moviegoers, just less demanding ones, in a slightly bland type action film, that certainly won't leave an imprint on us audience.

"Jaguar Lives!" is the first of 12 movies made by Joe Lewis, a guy who was one of the top martial artists during his day. And, as I watched this film, I was impressed by his skills...they were far better than most martial arts films of the era. In other words, he's NOT faking it...the guy is tough and his kicks and punches are pretty scary! Yet, despite this, Lewis' career never really took off and he was not the next Chuck Norris or Jackie Chan.

Whoever made "Jaguar Lives!" managed to get quite a few famous actors for the movie...something unusual for a movie starring an unknown. I saw the film simply because Christopher Lee was in the film, though he is only one of many famous folks in the movie.

Jaguar is a codename for Jonathan Cross (Lewis), an agent working for G6...some top secret American governmental organization. He's out to travel the world tracking down various elements of an international drug cartel. Again and again, after meeting with these evil characters, they set their goons on Jaguar and repeatedly he beats the snot out of them. Can he manage to destroy this international organization of evil?

I've already mentioned the positive things about the movie. On the negative side, the editing is lousy and it makes the transition from one country to another very abrupt and cheap looking. Also, Lewis' acting skills are only fair. And, finally, the script itself manages to be rather boring. But the worst was at the end with the big confrontation scene. It clearly was DARK...nighttime.

Yet, moments later it looks as if the story is taking place around noon!! Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Despite this it's not a terrible film but one that could have been better.