Condorman

[areaseven]

Condorman

Walt Disney Pictures, 1981, 2008

Directed by Charles Jarrott (1927-2011)

Based on the short story The Game of X by Robert Sheckley (1928-2005) (Immortality, Inc., Journey Beyond Tomorrow)

Running Time: 90 minutes

Rated PG for violence and mild language.

Cast

Michael Crawford as Woodrow "Woody" Wilkins / Condorman

Barbara Carrera (Fatima in Never Say Never Again) as Natalia

Oliver Reed (1938-1999) (Proximo in Gladiator, Vulcan in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) as Krokov

James Hampton (Harold in Teen Wolf) as Harry Oslo

Dana Elcar (1927-2005) (Peter in MacGyver) as Russ

Jean-Pierre Kalfon as Morovich

Synopsis

Famed comic book artist Woody Wilkins demands realism for his prized superhero Condorman, but he gets more than he asks for when he is involved in escorting a female KGB agent who wishes to defect from the Soviet Union.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAtervTgpys

Lowdown

When you were younger, there were tons of movies you spent all night watching on your VHS or Betamax players. Then, as the years passed, you forgot most of them. And when you saw them on DVD, you thought to yourself, "I actually enjoyed that movie when I was younger?"

Take Condorman, for example. It flopped at the box office and was heavily panned by critics. Kids back then thought it was cool because Condorman could fly and had a badass supercar. Today, one can't help but laugh at the film - not because it is mostly a comedy, but because its production values are laughable. The storyline is ridiculously hokey, the acting is unbearably cheesy and the wiring is clearly visible in the scenes where Woody uses his Condorman suit. And a lot of Porsche fans are still pissed off by the car chase scene.

But who cares?! This falls under the category of "it's so bad, it's good." It's that one toy in your prized collection that everyone hates. Despite all the bad parts mentioned above, Condorman has an equal amount of great parts in it. The cinematography is excellent - especially with the use of Paris, Monte Carlo and Switzerland as the film's settings. And the music by the late, great Henry Mancini (1924-1994) (The Pink Panther, Peter Gunn) gives the film a sense of epicness. Also, you gotta admit that Barbara Carrera was hot in this movie.

Of course, this movie could use a little bit of remastering TLC, as the DVD shows it hasn't aged well. Hopefully, Disney will give more attention to this underrated classic.

In short, Condorman is an acquired taste, but it's still one of the greatest guilty pleasure films of the 20th century.

Rating: B

Links

Disney DVD's Official Condorman Homepage

References

The Internet Movie Database

Edited March 23, 2015 by areaseven

[taksraven]

Michael Crawford is a comedy legend, but not for this bloody movie....

Frank Spencer rules!!

[Einherjar]

I was expecting something like Puma Man, but at least it's better quality-wise than that movie.

[areaseven]

I was expecting something like Puma Man, but at least it's better quality-wise than that movie.

I'm gonna have to see how bad this Pumaman is, though I doubt it's not as abysmal as Steel.

[PetarB]

I have fond memories of Condorman. In retrospect, now that comics are 'mainstream', its quite a geeky movie, in a good way!

[Graham]

Ha, I remember seeing this in the cinema when I was like 10 or 11 and quite enjoying it.

Graham

[Dynaman]

I'm gonna have to see how bad this Pumaman is, though I doubt it's not as abysmal as Steel.

If you watch it get the MST3K version, the movie is a dreadful turd - but Mike (or Joel, an't remember which) do a good job on it.

[JELEINEN]

I remember this movie, but I don't remember much about it or even if I like it or not. Interesting that it's based on a Sheckley story. I like his stuff, so I may have to hunt it down.

[Retracting Head Ter Ter]

I remember this movie as one I really really liked.

I cant remember the damn plot though. I only remember the opening scene where this idiot jumps from the Eiffel Tower and a car chase scene with lots of black 911s and some supercar hidden under an old truck.

Everything else I forgot but I remember liking the movie.

[areaseven]

FYI, the YouTube link above is not the trailer, but the movie in its entirety. So go microwave some popcorn and enjoy. Sadly, the video was taken down.

Edited January 25, 2012 by areaseven

[taksraven]

FYI, the YouTube link above is not the trailer, but the movie in its entirety. So go microwave some popcorn and enjoy.

Thanks for that, but my bandwidth is too tight at the moment.

Just watched the first few mins, the opening titles is the best thing about it. Actually, this would have made a GREAT animated feature.

[areaseven]

So, did anyone here watch the recent Muppets movie? The Toy Story short "Small Fry" featured a cameo appearance by a Condorman toy.

[Kelsain]

I loved the crap outta this movie when I was 7. Too bad the link's down, or I'd check it out again.

(null)

[Old_Nash]

CondorMan or "How I became a Spy being just a Toy desing"

^^

Golden Age of Disney movies.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

I remember this movie as one I really really liked.

I cant remember the damn plot though. I only remember the opening scene where this idiot jumps from the Eiffel Tower and a car chase scene with lots of black 911s and some supercar hidden under an old truck.

Everything else I forgot but I remember liking the movie.

I remember the same scenes!!!

[areaseven]

Disney Is Remaking Condorman For Some Reason

Oh yeah, here's Condorman's last known appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lDF6K2QoqU