Operation Condor (1991) directed by Jackie Chan
Back during World War Two, a large shipment of gold was concealed at a secret German base somewhere in the Sahara. The officer in charge of the mission, and the eighteen men assigned to assist him, mysteriously vanished, and anyone who knew the exact location of the base died one way or another before the end of the war. It sure would be nice if the United Nations was the first to find the gold so it could be used for peace. And that’s where the man codenamed “Asian Condor” comes in.
This action-comedy movie is a sequel to 1986’s Armour of God, but due to import shenanigans came out in America first, so most of us know the latter movie as “Operation Condor 2.”
After a failed mission in the Amazon, treasure hunter Jackie (Jackie Chan) is recruited by the UN to lead an expedition into the Sahara to look for the Nazi gold. The dub I saw carefully avoided saying the word “Nazi” though. He’s teamed with a geography expert named Ada, who manages to pull rank on Jackie once and then is overruled for the rest of the movie. They are soon joined by Elsa, the granddaughter of the German officer who hid the gold, who is trying to prove that he didn’t just steal it.
There are other parties after the gold too, a pair of bumbling Arab bandits, and a more competent group of mercenaries led by a mysterious man in a wheelchair.
Once in the desert, our heroes are joined by Momoko, a Japanese drifter in the desert to consider philosophy, and her pet scorpion. Shortly thereafter, a random band of Arab slave traders (what, again?) abduct Ada and Elsa, so Jackie and Momoko must rescue them. While they’re away, the mercenaries slaughter the rest of the expedition, so it’s up to Jackie and the girls to find the hidden base, defeat the mercenaries, and confiscate the gold. Two out of three ain’t bad.
The good: This is how you make an Indiana Jones-inspired movie. Keep the action and comedy, and the basic idea of a treasure hunter, but have the main character be entirely their own person rather than a Harrison Ford imitation.
The comedy mostly hits, especially when Jackie is being self-deprecating, and the action is excellent, with Jackie Chan as always doing his own impressive stunt work. I especially liked a fight sequence on moving platforms.
Less good: The roles for women in this movie are…less than good. After a fat-phobic joke in the opening, the women in the story exist for being rescued, comic relief and fanservice, including being forcibly stripped and ogled. (The audience only sees rear nudity.) None of the women seem competent (Ada even noticeably fails at her supposed expertise), though they sometimes manage to distract Jackie’s opponents.
The dub I watched flattens out many of the characters’ voices. Some of the accents are over the top vaudeville stereotypes.
Overall: It’s a very well-produced movie, and Jackie Chan shines in it. But take a star off if you prefer competent female characters.
