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Waste of time

Please don't spend money on this.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Entertaining spy send-up. Franciosa virtually carries the film single-handed with a forceful and ingratiating performance. Miss Welch tries to do a little more than look decorative but fails dismally. (I don't think anyone will mind). Mr. Revill is disappointingly clumsy. The action sequences are good, but tend to run on too long, however director Martinson does a much better job here than on "Batman". Of course the script is better too, and there is some fine 2nd unit direction and photography.When I saw this film in 1967 I was but a callow youth and I must admit I quite enjoyed it. Fifteen years later, it isn't nearly so entertaining. The story is so absurdly ridiculous it would strain the credulity of a new-born gnat and the characters are so forced to dance to the plot that they have more shadow than substance — with the exception of Clive Revill who comes on so over=strong as a figure-of-fun Russian as to provoke nausea rather than amusement.At least Tony Franciosa turns on the charm come what may, whether he is telling a background story that is intentionally full of holes or whether he is giving Fathom the true version (which is unintentionally full of holes). As for wide-eyed Fathom, when she is not yielding place to her stunt double on the sky-diving plane or in a speeding car or whatever, she is prancing around showing off a bit of well-turned skin here and there, trying vainly to act and displaying about as much personality as a well-rounded goldfish.Director Martinson is no help — pedestrian, heavy-handed with overuse of close-ups and about as much sense of pace and style as my Aunt Minnie. The action sequences are a slight improvement but remember these are the work of Peter Medak (2nd unit) and Kenneth Vos (sky-diving). Photographed in Spain but none too colorfully, not that much use is made of the scenery. Credits are merely passable (the film editing in particular displays little skill and the art director has little imagination) and production values moderate.

This movie starts with it's strongest part, Raqual Welch in her prime at every possible camera angle packing her parachute. They even use what was still rare in 1967, a classic shot of her back side. I doubt that anyone complained about that.Once this opening sequence is over, the film settles into a light plot involving a stolen Chinese Artifact which everyone is after though the good people versus the bads ones are very hard to sort out.Tony Franciosa is the other name actor in the cast but this movie is mostly Raquel. The rest of the supporting cast makes out alright but the action is slight and the style of photography is much in evidence in this film. Welch gets a 10 for effort but the script is a little lame so over all the movie is not that good. Still, there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.Raquel & Tony face down a bull in one sequence. There are times when everyone around her seem to be part of a load of bull. Raquel is Fathom, the lead character who gets involved with a lot of people but manages somehow to come out whole.

The sixties saw a craze for spy movies – the Bond films, the Harry Palmer films, plus countless others. Some were serious (e.g. The Defector, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold), others were very tongue-in-cheek (e.g. Our Man Flint, Operation Kid Brother) – but for a while the genre literally overflowed with releases. The twist in "Fathom" is that the all-action leading character is a girl. This is essentially a female variant of the James Bond movies, with sexy actors, sunny locales, a deliberately implausible bubble-gum plot and, of course, characters with outrageous names!American lady skydiver Fathom Harvill (Raquel Welch) is touring Southern Europe when she is approached for a difficult espionage mission. Scottish colonel Douglas Campbell (Ronald Fraser), who claims to work for the top secret agency H.A.D.E.S, informs Fathom that a device for triggering atomic weapons has fallen into the hands of someone working for Red China. The device has allegedly been hidden inside a Ming dynasty dragon statuette, which is housed in a guarded villa close to the Mediterranean coast. Fathom's job is to parachute into the villa unobserved and recover the device. However, she meets Peter Merriweather (Tony Franciosa) – an agent in the employ of the Red Chinese – and he tells her that she has been hoodwinked by Campbell. Merriweather's story is that Campbell is not a government colonel at all, but a con man who is trying to pull off a jewellery heist by involving her (unwittingly) as a burglar. Poor Fathom cannot know who to trust, nor even which side she is on, as she gets drawn deeper into the plot….."Fathom" is a light, breezy addition to the genre. The plot is absolute nonsense, of course, with characters that change sides more often than they might change underwear, and over-the-top action sequences between the plot twists. Welch isn't remotely challenged as an actress by her role as the titular character, but she is put through her paces as an international sex symbol. It's a test she passes with flying colours, looking ravishing throughout in her blinding array of dresses and bikinis! Franciosa as the love-interest-who-might-be-a-villain smiles toothily a lot, and that's about all, in his easy-going role. The locations are appropriately gorgeous, Johnny Dankworth provides a jazzy score, and the film skims along brightly. When you sit down to watch a movie like this, you know just what you're getting. There's no grand intention here – these people simply want to entertain, and that's just what they've done in their simple way. Give it a fortnight and you'll have forgotten you've ever seen "Fathom"…. but it's harmless fun whilst on.

Welch looks good in this, to be sure. But she also carries across the oddball charm this movie is attempting to convey. She looked good in Bedazzled and Myra Breckinridge as well, but wasn't given much to do. Here she gets some good dialogue to parry the men with, and she comes across as an exciting heroine that unlike Flynt or Matt Helm, should have been given more than one movie to do her thing. This film is very reminiscent of the more whacked-out Modesty Blaise. Just a little funnier. One could also find the roots of the current Charlie's Angels flix in this movie, albeit without the battering music.Leslie H. Martinson is a director who should be studied more closely. He did so many TV shows, it would be easy to dismiss him as style-free. But from what I've seen (Hot Rod Girl, PT 109, Batman) he uses simplicity in his favor, and makes good little movies that stick with you.