Dick Smart 2.007 (1970)

Why let a little thing like the plot get in the way of this much fun?, 25 June 2009

If you're a fan of far-out Euro-Spy films from the 60s with cool sets and set-pieces, exotic locations, Margaret Lee, groovy music, and over-the-top gadgets, and if the lack of a coherent plot doesn't bother you, then Dick Smart 2.007 is a must see. Actually, I'm not sure if the plot is really all that incoherent or if the audio on my transfer was so bad that I often couldn't tell what was going on. But why let a little thing like the plot get in the way of this much fun? What I did get out of it – Lady Lister (Margaret Lee) has gathered five of the most renowned nuclear scientists in the world and stashed them in her secret, underground Brazilian lair. She has developed a means of converting coal into diamonds using a controlled nuclear explosion. She has a partner in crime, McDiamond, who sees other possibilities for Lady Lister's discovery. The CIA (at least I think it was the CIA) hires part-time super-spy Dick Smart (Richard Wyler) to put a stop to their plans.

I'm still relatively new to the whole Euro-Spy scene, but what I'm quickly discovering is that Margaret Lee is to these movies what Edwige Fenech is to the Giallo (a genre I'm much more familiar with). Any Euro-Spy movie is better simply because Margaret Lee is in it. Unfortunately, in too many of these movies she's little more than eye-candy with nothing much to do. That's not the case here. In Dick Smart 2.007, she's on equal footing with her male co-star. Speaking of her male co-star, Richard Wyler is adequate – not spectacular – just adequate. The rest of the cast was okay with me. Good pace, good action, and a lot of those quirky moments that I just love. I mean how can you not just love a spy movie with a motorcycle that transforms into a little helicopter or a submarine at the push of a button? Unlike some of the other Euro-Spy movies I've seen recently, Dick Smart 2.007 seems to have had a larger budget than normal as evidenced by the bad guy's cool underground secret base and the wonderful travelogue type shots of Brazil. Mario Nascimbene's music is another real highlight. I dare anyone to watch Dick Smart 2.007 and not be humming the music afterward. Finally, I realize these movies might not be for anyone, but I find them incredibly entertaining – bad dubbing and all. A solid 7/10 from me.

7/10