A fairly average Eurospy adventure film, enlivened by a liberal smattering of action, a jazzy soundtrack as per usual, and some exotic locations in which the action is based. This appears to be more expensive-looking than others and is a well-shot adventure yarn which borrows heavily from the James Bond series. It even has the cheek to make a reference to Bond! Here, the secret agent's name is Mike Drum (!) and, although his clothes are cheaper, he's obviously an imitation of Sean Connery. Notable Italian direction Mario Caiano invests the movie with a lot of style and the action scenes are well-handled, relying heavily on firepower.
After the (very '60s) colourful opening credits have finished, we're introduced to a laid back pool scene which is interrupted by the brutal stabbing of a diving girl. Drum traces the killer to a picturesque house and engages in a shoot-out with him (the first of many), finally shooting him off the top of a wall. Here we are introduced to the film's interesting plot, which sees a madman by the name of Rashid using a special drug to brainwash normal people into becoming mindless murderers. He plans to destroy all of the world's leading scientists to stop progression of any kind. Why? Well, because he's just evil.
From then on the plot twists and turns in various ways, introducing lots of characters, half of whom turn out to be traitors. The other half mostly end up getting murdered. The plot is punctuated by some cool action scenes, including a shoot-out in a garden and a fight in a hotel room with a hidden assassin (seemingly pops up in every film, that one). All of the genre staples are here, from bugged ornaments to invisible ink, lots of double-crosses and characters with secret missions, plus that old scene of the hero being locked in a room being filled with poisonous gas. At around the hour mark, our hero is captured and himself given the drug, but he manages to recover to lead an all-out assault on the enemy base at the film's conclusion.
The acting is perfunctory with nobody really giving that strong a performance. Even the bad guy isn't really made out to be that evil. Mike Drum is a pretty unmemorable hero character and doesn't even get that many one liners. The only familiar face I noted in the cast was that of Erika Blanc, who of course later popped up in many horrors like THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE. Here she plays a drug addicted criminal. I guess she just has that kind of cold, evil-looking face. While not a great film, SPIES STRIKE SILENTLY passes the time well enough and contains some fun action to recommend it.
After the (very '60s) colourful opening credits have finished, we're introduced to a laid back pool scene which is interrupted by the brutal stabbing of a diving girl. Drum traces the killer to a picturesque house and engages in a shoot-out with him (the first of many), finally shooting him off the top of a wall. Here we are introduced to the film's interesting plot, which sees a madman by the name of Rashid using a special drug to brainwash normal people into becoming mindless murderers. He plans to destroy all of the world's leading scientists to stop progression of any kind. Why? Well, because he's just evil.
From then on the plot twists and turns in various ways, introducing lots of characters, half of whom turn out to be traitors. The other half mostly end up getting murdered. The plot is punctuated by some cool action scenes, including a shoot-out in a garden and a fight in a hotel room with a hidden assassin (seemingly pops up in every film, that one). All of the genre staples are here, from bugged ornaments to invisible ink, lots of double-crosses and characters with secret missions, plus that old scene of the hero being locked in a room being filled with poisonous gas. At around the hour mark, our hero is captured and himself given the drug, but he manages to recover to lead an all-out assault on the enemy base at the film's conclusion.
The acting is perfunctory with nobody really giving that strong a performance. Even the bad guy isn't really made out to be that evil. Mike Drum is a pretty unmemorable hero character and doesn't even get that many one liners. The only familiar face I noted in the cast was that of Erika Blanc, who of course later popped up in many horrors like THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE. Here she plays a drug addicted criminal. I guess she just has that kind of cold, evil-looking face. While not a great film, SPIES STRIKE SILENTLY passes the time well enough and contains some fun action to recommend it.