Our Man Flint is sort of Austin Powers if George Hamilton had the role instead of Mike Myers. Turn the silliness of James Bond up a notch or two and you’ve got Derek Flint (James Coburn) – spy, cool operator and all ‘round sexy guy. This 1965 spy comedy set the standard for espionage spoofs.
It is funny, but those lovely 1960s special effects are so incredibly bad that at times you wish you were watching Dr. No. James Coburn stars as Derek Flint, American spy, ladies’ man, ballet instructor, master of martial arts, and a man totally in love with being Derek Flint. The viewer can tell that Coburn is having a great time playing the role. Previously typecast as a sort of Eastwood-light character in westerns and war movies, during the mid-1960s, Coburn transformed himself into a comedic actor with the two Flint (the sequel was In Like Flint) films and the brilliant 1967 satire The President’s Analyst.
Our Man Flint is essentially a loose compilation of the first three James Bond movies. Evil villains, a secret service not unlike 007’s, and beautiful women abound. It is certainly better than the awful Casino Royale, but as with all spoofs, it doesn’t catch fire every scene, and at almost two hours in length, it is clunky and you can lose interest rather quickly.
The dialogue is well-written. In one scene, an eagle attacks Flint and the following exchange results:
Flint: “That eagle, why did he attack me?”
Another character: “He’s been trained to recognise and attack Americans.”
Flint: “An anti-American eagle. How diabolical!”
Flint is only a spy/super hero; he is also a man of mystery. Think of Austin, with a refined American swagger and a touch of Zen-Buddhism and existential philosophy.
Even though it was released in 1965 – still relatively early in the 1960s time of social change, Our Man Flint feels like a counter-culture film – certainly anti-establishment. Lee J. Cobb plays Cramden, the President’s flunky, who sort of hates Flint but gradually is awed by his super intellect and masterful understanding and response to every situation. This character is a far cry from Cobb’s brilliant performance in 12 Angry Men and is a welcome change for the tough-as-nails actor. In fact, he upstages Coburn in a number of scenes.
The conclusion of the film is a let-down because it reminds me of the awful late-1970s disaster flick When Time Ran Out. Set on a secret island with a secret underground laboratory (not unlike Dr. Evil’s island), it is in the last fifteen minutes of the movie that one longs for the special effects of The Poseidon Adventure. Unfortunately, they aren’t anywhere to be seen. But it is all in good fun, and the movie is recommended for Bond and Powers enthusiasts.
