Beautiful location scenery, an eclectic cast and a fairly pedestrian script add up to an okay crime drama. McCallum plays an undercover drug agent (with the unlikely name of Sol Madrid) who is trying to bring down fat cat kingpin Savalas and mob distributor Torn. He takes Torn's former moll Stevens to Mexico in order to infiltrate Savalas' heavily guarded estate and set up a sting operation on him. Assisting him is Montalban, a U.S. cop who has been working undercover in Mexico for many years and who wants to bring down Hingle, another linchpin in the drug connection. There's a lot of sniping, conspiracy, betrayal and violence along the way as McCallum works to reach his goals. Acapulco locations add a nice touch to the film and there is great, slick acting by Savalas and Montalban. Torn also inhabits his menacing character well. McCallum, however, veers back and forth from a blank nonentity to a petulant child who isn't getting what he wants. His performance is both uneven and uninvolving. Stevens is pretty shrill for much of the time, though she does look great during a lot of the film in her Moss Mabry creations and impossibly thick (faux?) blonde hair. She also allows herself to be seen (virtually) sans makeup in some of her grittier moments. Aside from some witty and authoritative moments with Savalas and a clever (if rather unbelievable) drug smuggling attempt, the film is mostly a drag. It seems a bit aimless and the lead's emotionless demeanor does not invite a lot of investment from the audience. There is a sort of interesting background for the title sequence in which a plant is sliced open and white liquid spews out while the red-lettered credits run. It's a tough, occasionally intriguing film, but one without much emotional payoff or lingering interest.
Review of Sol Madrid
