Modesty Blaise (1966)

Fans of 1960s camp and/or the Austin Powers movies will approach Modesty Blaise expecting to love it, but most viewers will come away a bit disappointed. Not totally disappointed, because it must be said that Blaise is one hell of a psychedelic ride, visually speaking. Production designers Richard Macdonald and Jack Shampan and costume designers Beatrice Dawson and Douglas Hayward have truly created a masterpiece of 1960s "mod," and the eye is constantly enraptured by the barrage of colors, textures and patterns that assault it. With 3-foot tall martini glasses (with goldfish in them), OpArt rooms that seem to have no ceiling or floor and clothes that simply shriek the time period, Blaise is a feast for those who cannot get enough of the swinging sixties. Unfortunately, this is all in the service of a screenplay that is a muddle. It's clearly intended to be a spoof, but it doesn't seem to really know enough about the genre it's spoofing. The satire is scattershot and often just plain silly. Director Joseph Losey does a very poor job of translating the material to the screen, taking things entirely too seriously; presumably he hoped this would approach would produce laughs, but he was quite wrong. And his attempts at playing for comedy are simply painful. Monica Vitti is miscast as the title character, lacking the physical energy required, as well as the essential "English-ness" of the character. Terence Stamp is fun as her very-cockney sidekick, but Dirk Bogarde is the one who really makes an impact, playing an outrageously swishy villain who provides all the best moments in the film. He can't make Blaise a good film, but he and the visuals are far and away the high points. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide