Project: Kill (1976)

What makes it different from others?

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

William Girdler made a number of memorable, b-grade action films in his prolific though brief career before his premature death, but "Project: Kill", unfortunately, isn't one for the highlight reel. Nielsen stars as a jaded US military project head, conditioning elite soldiers to become assassins with the aid of drug control. When he escapes to the Philippines to consult with a crippled ex-army buddy (Thompson), his 2IC (Lockwood) follows in pursuit with orders to recover or destroy before other sinister interests learn the project's secrets.Kwan is terribly wasted playing a Chinese love interest for the programmatic Nielsen, emotionally inert, unable to develop feelings of attraction and love until the drug withdrawal begins to wane and he discovers a human side he'd long neglected. Lockwood is the kung-fu fighting 2IC, another unlikely looking killing machine, while ubiquitous Philippino actors Vic Diaz and Vic Silayan are the villain and the cop respectively, both looking relaxed in their environment.Girdler's picture aims high but is seriously compromised by its production limitations and fatally stagnant pace. The plot has more holes than a sieve and the action sequences are poorly choreographed and lack intensity. Girdler was indeed a fine, emerging director with some talent, but "Project: Kill" isn't among his best work.

These poorly done films from the Seventies always bum me out, often not because of the stories, but because they remind me once again of the seriously hideous fashion sense and hair styles the era produced. Which is to say that I was part of that decade and probably looked just as goofy as the characters depicted here, allowing myself some measure of relief for having grown out of it.This flick however combined the fashion faux-pas with lame execution and the result was a tortuous hour and a half to make it to the end of the picture. I was surprised to see how old Leslie Nielsen looked in a film from just over thirty years ago, and got the shock of the day to find out he's a couple weeks shy of eighty four as I write this. Glad to see he's still working after turning out a clunker like this.But it wasn't all his fault. Though the film attempts to be an action adventure, it finds itself misfiring on any number of fronts. The martial arts scenes are agonizingly orchestrated, note I didn't use the word choreographed. Most of what occurs on screen is unintentionally funny; as an example, check out how Gary Lockwood throws his hair back after any scene in which it might have gotten mussed up a bit. Other reviewers have commented on Nancy Kwan's dubious need to be in the picture, but if that's the case, it goes double for Pamela Parsons as the intrepid Lynn Walker. Why was she here? She stands around watching the other players in most scenes she's in, and once was even asked by Lockwood's character to go watch the fish in the aquarium while he hooked up with the Filipinos. Very strange.Listen, don't get hoodwinked by the video jacket proclaiming exciting martial arts displays or an adventure of pressure cooker intensity. If there's a Priority One for this film, it's to be warned in advance of what you're getting yourself into.

I have seen many movies throughout my life just like the next guy. This was something special. Project Kill is the worst movie I have ever seen. I actually bought this movie because of the comments made on this website and thought to myself that it can't be THAT bad. Boy was I wrong about that. This movie was rated R back in 1977 and after viewing it, I have yet to find out why. Just a few things that made this film horrible include: The dialogue has inflections that don't make sense where they are placed, the "fight" scenes are so fake I almost started throwing things at the TV, and Nancy Kwan's role in this gem is absolutely pointless. This movie is so bad, I just had to force myself to laugh during some parts to avoid an aneurysm. Godspeed to those who want to subject themselves to this torture.

And I am not talking about insulin for diabetes. Contrary to popular belief, veteran actor Leslie Nielsen did not have his first comedic role in "Naked Gun." No, ladies and gentleman, that role would have to be here, in "Project: Kill," one of the most unintentionally hilarious movies I've ever seen. What is so tragic is that I believe the filmmakers had half-sincerity in what they were doing - trying to make a decent '70s-style political paranoia movie on the cheap. Director and Kentucky-based B-movie maven William Girdler even called this his greatest film, making me wonder whether he had an injection or two of his own.What they made instead is a movie with Nielsen embarrassing himself as a drugged-up, brainwashed top-secret assassin, walking through the Phillipines for some reason with both a bunch of Asian gangsters and an ex-partner after him (played by Gary Lockwood who, unbelievably, was in "2001: A Space Odyessey" 8 years earlier. His presence here certainly indicates that he received no royalties from that film). While on this little travel excursion, we get to see the beautiful and seedy sides of the Philippines (the producer appears to have spent the majority of the budget on pointless scenic photography at the expense of a badly-needed dialogue coach), and we also get to see the clumsiest kung-fu fight scenes ever put to celluloid. I'm not kidding - it seems as if Bugs Bunny was the resident martial arts consultant for filming. In addition, we get plenty of pseudo-sophisticated camera-work a la Sidney J. Furie's "The Ipcress File." I half expected to see the cameraman's foot slip into the bottom of the screen these shots were so inept. Two other highlights: a music score which seems to cut off and restart incorrectly during scene transitions, and Lockwood's boss on the telephone who has the voice of Alvin and the Chipmunks.I feel deeply sorry for the people of the Philippines. First, the United States annexed their country and claimed it as U.S. territory, then a hundred years later it made cheap movies like this even more cheaply over there to exploit the currency differential. A movie like this is grounds for diplomatic sanctions by the Philippines against the U.S. It is good for a few laughs and for curiosity's sake. For that reason, I will forego giving it a formal star rating, and let you get out of this whatever qualities you may; after all, life is like a box of chocolates...