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Highly Overrated But Still Good

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

An Exercise In Nonsense

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Of course, if you look at this from a purist's perspective, the movie just won't hold water. However, if you want to let yourself get sucked right into the naive sixties' view of more exotic parts of the world, then this will do the trick quite nicely. Chuckle at the the unabashed attempt to fool the viewer into believing that well-known Bangkok landmarks are instead the setting for the movie, Saigon. Great to see a very young and sexy Burt Reynolds, and equally sexy Kieuh Chinh of later Joy Luck Club fame (Suyuan – the mother), playing Reynolds' Vietnamese love interest. This movie is a jewel in its own right for being a kind of time capsule of 60s espionage intrigue and the glamor of international locales.

If you want to watch a young Burt Reynolds pretend to act then this will fulfill your desire. Allegedly, this 1965 film is about espionage in Sai Gon, Viet-Nam. Unfortunately, the only thing accurate is the portrayal of incompetent CIA agents. The film opens with a CIA agent standing on a steet corner when a young man on a small motorcycle stops, dismounts and walks away. The alleged CIA is not suspicious and is killed by a bomb attached to the motorcycle. Suddenly, Burt Reynolds is dispatched as a university professor with expertise in agriculture. He is educated about Viet-Nam's Mekong Delta region while flying to Hong Kong. Strangely he then takes a Thai Airways airplane to Bangkok rather than Sai Gon. The film was shot in Bangkok. Note the business signs and of course the Thai temples which do not exist is Sai Gon. Also, note the aircraft and airport buses are Thai Airways.Supposedly, a British journalist is conspiring with some Thais (pretending to be Vietnamese) planning to assassinate the U.S. Ambassador for unknown reason. This is remotely related to events during 1945 not 1965.General Douglas Gracey commander of the British Army in Annam (southern Viet-Nam) during 1945 conspired with French and Vietnamese agents in Sai Gon, to kill the leader of the U.S. Army OSS (forerunner of the CIA) team who was trying to negotiate with political groups aligned with the Viet-Minh in Tonkin, led by Ho Chi Minh. Gracey supported France's claim for former colonies even though President Franklin Roosevelt before his death was publicly against France taking control of such due to previous despicable colonial policies. But, I seriously doubt the scriptwriters knew anything about the political situation in southern Viet-Nam during 1945. This film needs a logical script. Apparently, the only reason this film was produced was to spend money sitting in Thailand or simply to visit and enjoy Thai massage girls. Obviously, during 1965, few people knew Bangkok from Sai Gon. But after eight years of war and millions of photos sent home by soldiers, it is difficult to pretend Bangkok is Sai Gon. Also, none of the Thai girls wear the white Ao Dai costume common with Vietnamese schoolgirls. Other than being a Bert Reynolds fan, the only other reason to watch this film is if you want to see Bangkok during 1964 - 1965.

Actually, this movie isn't half bad. It's good to see a young Burt Reynolds kicking butt in the orient and making it with the cute Asian chicks. Definitely has that early-to-mid 60s feel, music and all. I recently purchased a very hard to find VHS copy of this movie from a collector, and I'm not gonna get rid of it! Operation CIA is one of them flicks to just kick off your shoes and sit back and relax. Worth checking out....

This early Burt Reynolds movie is bad in all extremes. There is more time filler material (i.e driving in a car, riding in a boat...) than there is in 'Manos', the fight sequences, when they do arrive, are as about as well choreographed as a 3rd grade Christmas play. A sure-fire cure for insomnia. Skip it.