Operation Condor MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -1

Jackie Chan again demonstrates his remarkable stunts skills in this fast-paced action adventure. As agent Condor, Jackie is given the task of finding a stash of World War II gold buried by Germans in the Sahara Desert. He's aided in the task by historian Ada (Carol Cheng), and Elsa (Eva Cobo de Garcia), granddaughter of the German commander who hid the gold. Jackie holds a special key which will get him to the gold, but other groups are after the gold, and the key, as well. Almost a spoof of secret agent films with a dash of Indiana Jones, the spectacular stunt work and Jackie's tongue-in-cheek humor make an entertaining one-two punch. Equally interesting are the outtakes of Jackie doing his own stunt work and the often dangerous mistakes.

Like most martial arts films, there is more than enough kicks and hits to go around. The fights are separated by long chases that often include lots of property damage and endangering pedestrians. Jackie even stops to rescue a baby in a buggy threatened by a car crash. Another scene shows two men repeatedly shot by a machine-gun trap. Even the women are hit and kicked by the bad guys but the women also throw their share of punches. Some of the humor is suggestive as a desert hotel manager offers chocolates and condoms for nighttime guests. Rear female nudity is shown in one scene and it's suggested in other scenes where women have bathtowels taken off. Another scene shows a woman on the commode with sounds of urination. Unfortunately, this operation flies South in a winter of bathroom humor, nudity, and excessive violence. Perhaps we should let this CONDOR go extinct.

Preview Reviewer: Paul Bicking
Distributor: Dimension Films, 375 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013-2338