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Great Film overall

Did you people see the same film I saw?

Admirable film.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

"Kommissar X - Drei gelbe Katzen" or "Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick" (you can see the English-language poster here on imdb) is an Austrian/French/Italian (approximately) 90-minute movie from 1966, so this one is already over half a century old, and it is a German-language film. The age means that most of the people working on this one are gone now for good, but director Rudolf Zehetgruber, who also adapted the novel this is based on is still alive in his 90s now. This is one of many Kommissar X films with the name including a number (3) followed by a color and a species of animals and actually among the more known I'd say judging from the number of votings here on imdb. The cast includes international actors, many actually, but also Germans. And I can totally see why so many people are comparing this/these movies to Bond films that were of course already highly popular during that time. But yeah, it really is just a poor man's version. The good thins is it has color, but that's pretty much it. The characters are nothing special, the story is relatively shallow and never really gets you in the genre. And in terms of the protagonist, this film shows exactly how not to do it. Bond may be a bit vain, but he is always somewhat likable and you cheer for him. This main character here feels only arrogant in my opinion and I couldn't care less what happens / doesn't happen to him. Then the girls: They picked generically 2 of them, one dark-haired, one with blonde hair and as the main character cannto really decide between them, it is such a simple approach that no matter what you like as an audience, your choice would be one of them. But they are both extremely forgettable. Admittedly that one big hunky antagonist was an okay addition from the physical perspective, but he also brought his dose of cringe with the suicide scene and honestly he was constantly scared and running away and his big spectaculat martial arts scene near the end was such a letdown. They built him up so in a certain way and then he gets beaten up like a school kid. Embarrassing stuff really. If this film had at least failed with its own ideas, but it is just a Bond copycat with everything you could imagine going wrong and a severe lack of talent all around. You definitely wanna skip this one and judging from the quality here, I doubt I will check out another Kommissar X film in the near future. I suggest you do the same and watch som,ething else instead. Also the occasional shots at comedy were a flash in the pan at best. Oh yeah I also did not really see the Indy Jones reference some have been making, Bond at all kinds of locations is the usual too.

From what I gather this is the second film in the "Kommissar X" series and takes place in Sri Lanka with several thugs from a criminal gang known as "the Golden Cats" attempting to kidnap a wealthy woman named "Babs Lincoln" (Ann Smyrner) and hold her for a ransom of $1 million. Although she manages to escape one of her assistants is killed and an American police officer named "Captain Tom Rowland" (Brad Harris) is sent by the United States government to investigate. Additionally, since her father is one of the wealthiest men in America, a private detective named "Joe Walker" (Tony Kendall) is also sent to act as her bodyguard. Naturally, since both Joe Walker and Captain Rowland present an impediment to their plans, the Golden Cats have an assortment of methods—which includes the use of karate, vials of nitroglycerin and bacteriological agents—at their disposal to eliminate them. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film certainly had potential but the rather unstructured direction caused it to seem somewhat drab and confusing. To be sure, the exotic location of Sri Lanka and the presence of both Michele Mahaut (as "Michele") and Ann Smyrner helped to enhance the scenery--but other than that there really wasn't much here for me to rank this film any higher than I have. Average.

Being new to the Eurospy scene, there are a couple of websites that I check out for news and reviews. I was shocked when I noticed that one of the sites I really like called Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick the best of the three Kommissar X films in Retromedia's set. To me, the opposite is true. In my opinion, Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill and So Darling, So Deadly are both superior to Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick. The problem – no discernible plot. I defy anyone to watch Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick and tell me just what's going on. Maybe I missed something, but to me the movie is little more than a seemingly random series of set-pieces. Sure, some of the scenes are very enjoyable (the hotel rooftop chase and the final karate showdown being two wonderful examples) and Tony Kendall and Brad Harris' on-screen chemistry is strong, but without a coherent story, I lost interest in what was going on. I think my 5/10 rating is generous.One reason I've rated Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick higher than I probably should have is the scene set in what I'll call the Haunted Swamp. It's very well done. Creepy music, twisted trees, an abandoned/crumbling old house, and a "fire-breathing monster" (very reminiscent of Dr. No) make these scenes really stand out. Very atmospheric. I just wish there had been a story to go along with the wonderful images.

"Death Is Nimble, Death Is Quick" is the third movie included in the "Kommissar X" DVD collection, and the first thing that must be noted is that it has by far the worst picture quality of the three: the color especially is all wrong, and the sky & sea end up looking green instead of blue. There also appear to be some scenes missing at one or two spots, unless it was just bad editing to begin with. The film does feature some impressive stuntwork (such as a hotel rooftop chase that ends with both guys jumping from the roof to the ground below), a memorable fight between Captain Rowland and an evil karate master, and a slim and spirited leading lady (Ann Smyrner). But in between the few good scenes, the vague plot does not hold much interest, and there is a bit too much talk. Out of these 3 movies, "Kiss Kiss Kill Kill" follows the Bond formula most faithfully, and comes off as easily the best; the other two try to follow their own path more, and end up getting lost in the way. (**)