Alcoholic struggling writer Ted Angelo (an amusing performance by the always dependable Franco Nero) discovers a UFO hidden in a cave in the Columbian jungle. Ted tries to spread the word about his discovery, but the CIA, KGB, the mob, Neo-Nazis, and even aliens do their best to suppress the news. Sound good? Well, this movie doesn't amount to much despite the loopy script by Nellow Rossati and Roberto Gianviti. Rossati's pedestrian direction not only generates precious little tension, momentum, and excitement, but also allows the erratic pace to lag throughout (the opening third in particular is pretty talky and drawn-out). Moreover, the action scenes tend to be rather tepid and the plot becomes more increasingly ludicrous as it unfolds, although there's still a nifty surprise twist pertaining to one of the main female characters at the conclusion. The cast do their best with the muddled material: Deborah Moore registers nicely as Angelo's feisty English gal pal June, Mary Stavin likewise does well as icy bitch Maureen De Havilland, Andy Sidaris movie regular Rodrigo Obregon has a cool part as vicious flunky June, William Berger is likable in a regrettably minor role as Angelo's kindly friend Alonso Kintero, and a hilariously miscast George Kennedy provides a few substantial unintentional laughs as pernicious German (!) heavy Heinrich Holzmann. The exotic locations add some much-needed flavor and a decent smattering of tasty female nudity prevents things from becoming too tedious. However, the jumbled narrative makes it often hard to tell what's going on -- and even harder to care. Overall not a bad movie; just a really blah and hence instantly forgettable one.
Review of Top Line
