This flick has one of the most incredible casts ever assembled for a B-movie! You've got Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence (fresh from "Halloween"), Barbara Bach (former Bond Girl), Woody Strode (those who've seen "Spartacus" aren't likely to have forgotten him), Capucine (Inspector Clouseau's wife in "Pink Panther"), even the legendary director John Huston (not his first useless supporting role; remember "Tentacles"?). Unfortunately, none of those performers get a chance to stand out and do anything memorable, the story is confusing (although the main villain's "hidden" identity is easy to guess) and karate expert Lewis, who stars, knows all the right moves but has little acting charisma. (*1/2)
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gridoon15 January 2002
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During a mission a secret agent called Jaguar loses his partner in a explosion. So after the disaster he goes back to his sensei to continue his training. But after a while he is called back on a mission involving that of a international drug dealer that might have had a hand in his friend / partner's death. This leads Jaguar on a whirlwind trip across the glob, where he encounters many foes before he confronts his main man.
I wasn't expecting too much, but I was pleasantly surprised in what I got from this b-grade romp. It's your typical textbook James Bond adventure with the agent travelling around the world to many exotic locations, gathering information on a villain he's tracking down. But our secret agent here Jonathan Cross - Code name Jaguar; has a speciality in martial arts, which he demonstrates on those who get in his way. While, the big scale production and story shares some familiarity to a Bond film, also the stars play a high influence to that factor. You got Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence, Joseph Wiseman and Barbara Bach making up the cast with some nifty performances. Ironically, they themselves have starred in a Bond film. It's just too bad that they have very little to do here with their meagre roles. Other notables making up the well-known cast include Woody Strode, Capucine, John Huston, Anthony De Longis and an enticing Sally Faulkner in some sexy lingerie. Man, just looking at the names - it should have been a blinder. Kickboxing expert Joe Lewis as Jaguar delivers the goods in the moves, but his overall acting performance is rather wooden. In the end the cast like this is simply wasted.
"Jaguar Lives" at times is an exciting escapism story that's filled with some cartoon like characters and a sizzling verve of precise and intense action scenes. The rollicking martial art scenes seem to feed off the story rather then being just senseless mayhem. Well, that might be a plus, but sometimes there was just too much talk where there could have been some vigorous activity. But when the action did kick in, the tempo was staged with supreme skill and impressive set pieces - just like the fitting climax battle. The jam-packed story which the film follows real closely is an convoluted mess with many illogical steps, but it's basically working itself up to the final confrontation. And when it came to providing us the main villain's identity, it shouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone. I found it to get incredibly better and more intriguing the further along it went. The script is terribly blunt and quite forced, although there's an ample amount of wit found throughout (even though it doesn't always come off). Since the agent travels high and low that means there's quite a change of scenery with some astonishing locations and the sublime photography is professionally set-up with many creative and brisk manoeuvring shots. The fruitful score is an energy charged belter that gives out that groovy 70s twang in neat short pockets.
At best a cheesy time-waster that's filled with a mish-mash of ideas and comic book heroics within it's martial arts background. -
yohumbug12 July 2006"Jaguar Lives" is very slow and plodding entertainment, despite a tip-top cast being associated. The action (well that's when it gets around to it) is too little and unexciting martial arts... because we have to wait through long dry spells of talk. The climax battle is the only thing worth waiting around for. Not helping is that the twists in the story are plain easy to pick up on and it doesn't make too much sense. Wow, just look at the names! The main reason I decided to give it a look. The likes of Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence and Barbara Bach are simply wasted, and Joe Lewis is just too deadpan in the lead role. Fun this is not. No wonder why it's not too well known, as it's largely dismissible.
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pbnorton3 February 2004Unexplainible Plot , with some extremly wooden acting and one of the most severe examples of continuity where the Jaguar fights the baddie at the end and in one scene change it changes from a pitch black night to brilliant sunshine . It would also seem that the film has some of the worst sound editing I have ever seen .
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ma-cortes13 June 2022A run-of-the-mill action/thriller/kung-fu movie with good main and support cast and ordinary theme about brave secret agent busts international crime ring plot . The world's new Karate hero , Jonathan Cross (Joe Lewis) who is out to stop enemies. Helped by Sensei (Woody Strode) , Cross battles drug dealers , nasty bands , and help save the world from an evil con (Sir Christopher Lee) and other defector agents . These treacherous times demand a new style of hero. Now is the time for Jaguar . Now is the time for a great new screen hero. Now is the time for Jaguar.
A no-interest , tacky and multi-location action movie that takes its cues from early 007 movies , cheapo chop-socky movies and Chuck Norris films . In fact Joe Lewis was a world class Karate champion, and trained with Chuck Norris and even fought several matches against Bruce Lee in the 1960s . It turns out to be the listless, tedious hokum of the secret agent battling an international conspiracy , that nowadays it looks hopelessly anachronistic in even the baldest commercial terms . Here stands out the appearances from notorious international actors at the time , such as : Christopher Lee at one of his ordinary 70s roles as a villain , Donald Pleasence as an overacting dictator , the gorgeous Bond-girl Barbara Bach , the elegant and cold Capucine , Joseph Wiseman as an old blind man , the hunk Woody Strode and actor/director John Huston . Being a US/Spain co-production with brief intervention of Spanish actors , such as : Luis Prendes as a prison chief , Simón Andreu , George Rigaud , Emilio Rodríguez , Víctor Israel , Taida Urruzola, Fedra Lorente , Maribel Hidalgo, among others .
Highlights the gorgeous and colorful cinematogrophy by John Cabrera shot in several locations in USA , Tokio , Macao , Hong Kong and shot mostly in Spain : Desert Tabernas , Almeria , La Alcazaba, Almería, Andalucia , Dehesa de Navalvillar, Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, El Escorial, Madrid, Valle de los Caídos, Madrid and Castle of Belmonte, Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha where long time ago was filmed Anthony Mann's El Cid . The motion picture was lousily directed by Ernest Pintoff . Ernest was an ex-cartoonist and once once-touted filmmaker and winning the Oscar for best animated short for The Critic (1963), a satire on modern art written and narrated by Mel Brooks. Pintoff previously earned an Oscar nomination for his animated short The Violinist (1959), narrated by Carl Reiner. For television Pintoff directed episodes of numerous series, including Hawai 5-0 (1968), The Six Million Dollar Man (1974) and Falcon Crest (1981). As part of NBC's "Experiments in Television" in the late 1960s, he directed the documentaries "This Is Marshall McLuhan" and "This Is Sholem Aleichem." Among Pintoff's feature credits as a director are the low-budget Who killed Mary Magdalene (1971), starring Red Buttons, and Dynamite Chicken (1971) . Jaguar Lives! (1979) rating : 4/10 , inferior and embarrassing action movie . -
Bunuel19761 September 2015I had first recorded this off late-night Italian TV but, thankfully, had not yet checked the movie out before it turned up in English: a vague James Bond rip-off in which the protagonist (one Joe Lewis) happens to be a martial arts expert – for the record, the two styles had already clashed, far more successfully, in Bruce Lee's last-completed and best vehicle i.e. ENTER THE DRAGON (1973). Even if the producers of this one were wily enough to recruit a roster of co-stars – no fewer than 5 of whom had appeared in previous Bond extravaganzas (Barbara Bach, John Huston, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence and Joseph Wiseman)! – the result is, while not boring, hardly thrilling, in spite their being practically no let-up to the action!!
Incidentally, much is made of the mysterious identity of the chief villain (at least, they had the good sense to not cast an established actor in the role – who would have invariably blown the hero out of the water in that department!) when the pre-credits sequence gives this away all-too-plainly!! Lewis' "sensei" is Woody Strode and, among his adversaries, is Capucine (who, having failed to dispatch the "Jaguar" herself, later calls on Lee and insists to be informed when this is finally accomplished!); the latter, however, displays an admirable code of ethics when he lets Lewis go after he has repeatedly defeated his goons inside a Japanese cemetery! Wiseman plays blind and Huston (amusingly, his character is named Ralph Richards!) wheelchair-bound, so that only Pleasence has fun as the self-appointed but – inevitably – cowardly dictator of a banana republic.
As I said, the action highlights (personally choreographed by the leading man) are not exactly ground-breaking and too often merely silly – at one point, he takes on a gang of motorcycle thugs, not to mention the various minions at a factory, whom he overcomes not via his usual karate moves but by throwing every kind of accessory which comes his way at any approaching assailant!; then again, it must be pointed out that director Pintoff had started out in animation. The film, at the very least looks good – helped in no small measure by the globe-trotting nature of the plot – but, atypically, Lewis proves oddly resistant to female company (save for ex-colleague Sally Faulkner, who has improbably forsaken espionage for a nun's habit!). The concluding moments show the protagonist once again having his training sessions interrupted by the arrival of agent Bach but, unsurprisingly, no sequel ever surfaced (or was likely ever commissioned, though the star would in fact return to the big screen for FORCE: FIVE {1981}, directed by ENTER THE DRAGON's own Robert Clouse!). -
bensonmum229 February 2008To sum up the plot of Jaguar Lives! in a couple of sentences Jaguar is a secret agent with a mission that takes him around the world to locate and bust-up up a large-scale heroin ring. If along the way he's able to find out who killed his former partner, so much the better. Joe Lewis (1979 World Karate Champion) is Jaguar. While his acting may be a bit stiff, his moves certainly aren't. The man knows how to throw a kick. He's joined by one of the most amazing casts for a nothing movie like this that I've ever seen Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasence, Barbara Bach, Woody Strode, Joseph Wiserman, John Huston, and Capucine all lend their varied talents to the film. None has very much to do or much screen time, but Pleasence makes the most of his role as a South American dictator. Unfortunately, none of these actors is able to save Jaguar Lives! from mediocrity. The plot is pretty much a muddled mess, relying on set-pieces featuring fights to move the plot along. The big reveal of the head bad guy at the end of the movie shouldn't surprise anyone who's been paying the slightest bit of attention. And Lewis just doesn't have what it takes to hold the movie together.
So, while I'm impressed with the supporting cast and the money spent shooting in exotic locations around the world, Jaguar Lives! just isn't all that good. With all that being said, I'm a bit shocked to see that Joe Lewis didn't many more movies. Sure, his acting may have been lacking, but people with similar acting ability but with only half of Lewis' martial arts ability were churning out movies in the 80s. -
poe42627 October 2008Lay the blame for this one where it belongs: with the filmmakers. In his first at-bat as a movie star, Joe Lewis shows glimpses of some genuine acting ability. Unfortunately, director Pintoff (whose resume, I see here, reads like a season by season who's who of forgettable television shows) wasn't up to the task. JAGUAR LIVES! looks and feels more like a travelogue than anything else, with establishing shots of internationally famous landmarks and reel after reeling reel of home-movie style sequences that add up to nothing at all in the end. Allow me to belabor this point: Lewis, the first full contact heavyweight karate champion of the world, apparently took his acting lessons as seriously as he does his martial arts- and it shows (again, briefly, in glimpses). I remember liking his next film, FORCE: FIVE, better than this one, but I've been unable to find a copy of it (this one I found at Netflix). Lewis fared no better than in JAGUAR LIVES! in DEATH CAGE- but, even there, he demonstrated some acting ability. That his career wasn't handled better by those entrusted with it is nothing less than a crying shame.
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I actually couldn't care less about lame Kung-Fu movies; however I am strangely fascinated by insignificant B-movies that assemble impressive ensemble casts even though everything else about it absolutely sucks. "Jaguar Lives!" is a terrific example of this, if there ever was one. This is without a doubt one of the dumbest, most redundant, most intolerable and dullest flicks ever made, but would you look at that cast! The titular hero is a total nobody – and remained a total nobody even though this dud was supposed to launch his acting career – but would you just take a look at the names surrounding him! It's like an unofficial James Bond reunion where only the coolest people received an invitation: Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasance, the stunningly beautiful Barbara Bach, Joseph Wiseman and – just for fun's sake – Woody Strode and John Huston. The issue, however, is that all these great people only appear for a mere couple of minutes and I bet all my money that none of them had a clue what this movie was about. The whole thing is just a dire excuse to showcase Joe Lewis' admittedly smooth Kung-Fu moves (watch him kick two naughty villains off their bikes at once in impressive slow-motion) and to travel around the most dreamy exotic locations in the world to tell an inexistent story about an international drug network. Moreover, the identity of the criminal mastermind is so goddamn obvious straight from the beginning that the attempts to hide his face or cover up the sound of his voice are downright hilarious. Donald Pleasance clearly had a fun day depicting a cartoonesque South American dictator, but the rest of them are just performing on automatic pilot and appear to be clinically dead. The explosions and car crashes look incredibly amateurish and Ernest Pintoff's direction is as uninspired as can be. Somehow this turkey received a beautiful and luxurious DVD-release even though it hardly deserves such a treatment. There are far better contemporary cult flicks out there that sadly remain stuck in obscurity. But hey, if you want to have a good laugh or wish to pointlessly kill off a couple of your brain cells, you can't go wrong with "Jaguar Lives!"
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HaemovoreRex19 January 2006Legendary heavyweight kickboxing champion Joe Lewis kicks off his mysteriously brief movie career with this globe trotting martial arts actioner in which he assumes the eponymous role of The Jaguar, a sort of James Bond type agent sans the gadgets (other than his lethal fists and feet)
The first thing that becomes immediately apparent whilst watching, is that a large amount of money was put into this judging by the multiple foreign locations and some of the incredible cast that has been assembled here. Such cinematic luminaries as John Huston, Christopher Lee, Donald Pleasance and Woody Strode all put in appearances! (albeit briefly) Also along for the ride is the familiar and welcome face of Anthony De Longis as Jaguar's friend and fellow agent.
All well and good so far then.....however it has to be said that for what is ostensibly an action movie, there is in fact far too little action on offer here. The majority of the films running time is taken with our hero jet setting from one beautiful location to another searching for clues as to the identity of an international drug dealer who in a somewhat lame and predictable twist at the end is revealed to be.....well I won't say it here.
Still, despite the above criticism the action sequences when they do arrive, turn out to be very exciting indeed. The final climatic fight especially, set atop the scenic splendour of an old castle, between Jaguar and his nemesis is very exciting and well handled.
It's rather sad that other than a tiny handful of other films, Lewis never further pursued his movie career. From the evidence here, although obviously not trained as an actor he nonetheless possessed a rather powerful on screen presence in much the same manner as the likes of the late great Charles Bronson.
Overall then, the film is certainly worth a watch for fans of martial arts, not least of all to see a genuine kickboxing legend in action, although it has to be said that it could have been so much better with less of the excessive talking and a bit more of the said action. -
What a cast! Christopher Lee, John Huston, Donald Pleasence, Capucine, Joseph Wiseman, Woody Strode and Wah Yuen but unfortunately they only appear briefly leaving the film to be carried by Joe Lewis as Jonathan Cross (or Jaguar to his mates) and though Mr. Lewis is a martial arts champion as an actor he is completely uninteresting. Apparently there is a plot but it only functioned to move Jaguar around the world to exotic locations with no rhyme or reason and the surprise twist of the identity of Esteban could be seen a country mile away. Visually there is nothing to catch the eye, apart from of course Sally Faulkner in her unmentionables.
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Moviegoers can have a frivolous little action-adventure flick, as a treat. This makes no bones whatsoever about what it is, as before ten minutes have passed we're treated to Woody Strode as a martial arts sensei who is also a cowboy, cutaways to a satellite in space because to fill time, a globe-trotting narrative that allowed the production to film in many different countries and many gorgeous locations, a supporting cast of stars fresh from Eon Productions' James Bond franchise among many other renowned actors, and to top it all off, an accomplished martial artist starring as our new would-be action hero. The storytelling is rather direct and the very opening scene, preceding the opening credits, gives us a plot point that we can foresee returning later; other story ideas are reliably tried and true, for better or worse. None of this is a mark against 'Jaguar lives!' - in fact, it's what makes the title so fun! But all this does mean that it marks itself from the start as a second- or third-rate action flick, if not a B-movie, and viewers who aren't receptive to the style can move on right now. Yet for those who do appreciate what this stands for, it's a really good time!
It should be said that we as an audience can recognize that this is hardly a "top of the line" production, but it doesn't know that - and bless their hearts, everyone here just poured all their energy into making the best little picture that they could. I earnestly think that much more than not that effort truly did pay off! The filming locations really are outstanding, and the narrative gives as much rhyme and reason to the globe-trotting as any given Bond flick. Just as much to the point, while this isn't a title with substantial name recognition, I quite think it's just about as well made as any contemporary fare. The production design and art direction are splendid; a lot of genuine skill, intelligence, and care went into the sets, costume design, hair, and makeup. Though I don't agree with every choice, the cinematography is pretty fantastic, smart and dynamic, and the editing is equally deft. Robert O. Ragland's music isn't anything special, but is perfectly suitable for the genre and the tone that this maintains throughout. I note that this came to us from American International Pictures, so even just on that basis one can assume fine production values.
I will grant that the writing isn't necessarily the strongest facet of the feature. A complete, cohesive story is told, but Yabo Yablonsky's screenplay is pretty bad about establishing connective threads between scenes and story beats. I did say the globe-trotting is written about as well as any Bond flick, and that holds true insofar as we sometimes get little or no clear elucidation of how the titular character's investigation progresses from A to B to C, and from one character that he briefly interacts with to another. Suffice to say that the writing is much better in the broad strokes than in the details, though as far as that goes, the story is duly compelling, and scenes are apt, flavorful fuel to propel the proceedings. Some scenes are pretty darn terrific, for that matter, and one way or another director Ernest Pintoff makes the most of all of it, building a duly engaging feature with some fetching shots and swell orchestration of every passing moment.
Likewise, not only do I take no issue with the cast, but by and large I think the acting is even pretty great. The least that can be said is that the performances are capably solid as the material demands, but to varying degrees I think a lot of the cast rather shines. Joe Lewis is certainly better suited to martial arts action than performing arts acumen, but he's able-bodied in the latter and superb in the former. Some co-stars, like Strode, Joseph Wiseman, or Barbara Bach, simply play their part, but they do it admirably well. And still other cast members, like Christopher Lee, John Huston, and especially Donald Pleasence, are obviously having an absolute ball with their parts, and one wishes that we got to see more of them - particularly since their characters are filled with delightful personalities and potential of which we get to see very little as these ninety minutes advance.
Above all, 'Jaguar lives!' would be nothing without its stunts, effects, and action sequences. And I sincerely believe that these are just plain excellent, up to the high standards we expect of any of this movie's kin. We get a considerable variety, too, what with various melee weapons being employed, different fight styles, chases, gunfights, explosions, and some odds and ends that are just for kicks. This is definitely where Lewis shows his worth as the star, and every last fragment of the action looks marvelous and is meaningfully invigorating. I would observe that there are instances when, in the fashion all too common to such Hollywood fare, the cinematography and editing take away in some measure from the excitement - substituting zealous cuts and shots for the visualization of actual blows and strikes. Still, this comes across only some of the time, and far more than not the many scenes of violence are fabulously well done, and easily the top highlight.
There are perhaps other weak spots, too, not least the fact that at the climax we instantaneously shift from the middle of the night to the middle of the day. I repeat that I wish we got more time with all the supporting characters, because it's clear there was significant energy poured into their conjuration for what turns out to be a scant few minutes of screen time each. Once again, the revelation that comes in the last stretch - the reveal of who is behind the international conspiracy of evil-doers - is something we as spectators have known from the very beginning. Yet for all the faults and reasonable nitpicking, the fact remains that the film only wanted to have fun, and as far as I'm concerned it handily achieves that goal, with more real, commendable value than not. There's no mistaking that it's not a AAA picture, but nor does it try to be one. The only aim was an action romp for audiences to enjoy, and even with its faults, overall it's well made in every capacity to allow just that. I, for one, was thoroughly entertained by 'Jaguar lives!' even as I found aspects to criticize, and I think anyone looking for light action-oriented fare will have much the same reaction. Cheers! -
lanechaffin-964-6319016 January 2021Jaguar Lives! Is a strangely shot yet alluring yarn about globetrotting martial arts expert Joe Lewis who works on a ranch with sensei Woody Strode, somewhere in Spain. The entire movie was filmed in Spain in September 1978. When Lewis' services are needed, a goddess (Barbara Bach) arrives from the sky in a helicopter to tell Lewis where to go and what to do. It jumps around a bit. I didn't really try to understand what was going on too much, and found it to be an interesting watch, not so much for the plot. It's sort of James Bond meets Mission Impossible meets Steven Seagal meets Beverly Hills Ninja. Being familiar with Lee, Pleasance, Strode, and Bach, I figured a movie with that cast couldn't be too bad. And it wasn't. Lee is his typical staid and villainous self. Donald Pleasance is especially amusing in his role as a dictator, but it is only slightly more than a cameo appearance. The reason I watched was because of Bach, with Jaguar Lives! coming up on a search result for her. She was good as always but her parts too few and far between. Lewis, who was a complete unknown to me, pretty much hogs the screen. I would've liked to see more of Bach, obviously, but Lewis was actually better than i expected him to be, and this is a martial arts movie, so for what it is, i think it succeeds to an extent. Watch it twice if you don't believe me.
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alexanderdavies-993828 August 2018This rubbish ought never to have been made, it makes for rather embarrassing viewing. Real life Karate and Kickboxing champion Joe Lewis had the potential to become another martial arts leading man in films. He had the look but also the talent as a martial artist. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Joe Lewis was one of these outspoken types, especially regarding injustice - which didn't endear him to Hollywood producers. He claimed they made promises to him which weren't fulfilled whilst he made "Jaguar Lives." The story is just the same old damn thing, so I won't comment there. Donald Pleasence, for all of his one scene appearance, was paid about $35,000. Not bad for a couple of days work! The same applies to Christopher Lee. At least Joe Lewis knew what he was doing during the choreography sequences and pulls it off well. Otherwise, this movie is completely forgettable.
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unbrokenmetal8 November 2021This was the first movie role for karate and kickboxing Champion Joe Lewis, whom director Pintoff described as "a cross between the sensitivity of James Dean, the rage of a young Marlon Brando, and the flamboyance of Errol Flynn". Let's say this was a slight misjudgment for a young man without any acting experience. Lewis could have played a supporting role as a fighter, but here he has more dialog than Clint Eastwood in five movies. Joe's hair is growing longer or shorter, being colored brighter or darker, changing from scene to scene, so his coiffeur could probably tell in which order the scenes were shot. After "Jaguar Lives", Lewis was never asked to fulfil the contract for 4 movies he had signed.
"Jaguar Lives" is a bizarre combination of expensive Hollywood hubris and cheap action trash. On one hand, they got plenty of stars like Donald Pleasance, Christopher Lee, Joseph Wiseman (Dr. No), Barbara Bach and even ancient Hollywood legend John Huston (in a wheelchair!). On the other hand, they used a script which is a random collection of scenes without any story or character development (Lewis fights one boss in Hong Kong, one boss in Rome, one boss in wherever, while an off-screen narrator - always the last means of help if nobody understands the story - explains they all work for the same criminal network).
The funniest scene is when Donald Pleasance as general boasts about his precious helicopter with machine guns and rockets, promptly stolen by Lewis - and you see him take off in a totally unarmed old chopper which barely flies. An episode of the TV series "Airwolf" must have had a higher budget than this epic.
"Jaguar Lives" at least has a couple of good fights, a brave star who does dangerous stunts (even the 'cling to the car roof' scene) himself, some funny moments (Donald Pleasance seems to enjoy the part of the general) and is watchable once, but it feels like a disaster of a movie from the moment when Woody Strode watches Joe's Tai Chi practice and tells him how awesome he is. The audience never shares the feeling. -
videorama-759-85939126 September 2019This film has never really cut it for me. Although there's a lot of action, it's forgettable or it just doesn't captivate us, and never really lives up to what could been. It falls below the ranks of being a memorable if kind of dry actioner, which wastes a great cast, including a smaller part by an Aussie actor who does the voice over for the very same VHS company who brought out this forgettable film, whose cover poster of our hunky actor lead, is no less than engaging. And of course, you're not expecting a feat of acting chops. Again, more brawn than brain. This is a film that just seems to run a limited course, and falls short many times. Even in it's exciting and promising start (perpetual lasting explosions have never been more beautiful) it gives in too easy, where promising suspense is killed. The film keeps running short on things, unhelped by bad editing, if working on a short budget. Out hunky Lewis, code name Jaguar, who's betrayed at the start, is enlisted to take down an international drug dealer. The great Christopher Lee is one of the few highlights of the film, and Cappucine, plays a great vilanness, but bottom line, this is just a forgettable film. Even with Jaguar claiming arse kicking revenge, we're hardly moved or riveted. Jaguar, certainly a force to be reckoned, won't live on in the mind of moviegoers, just less demanding ones, in a slightly bland type action film, that certainly won't leave an imprint on us audience.
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tarbosh2200027 December 2023Jonathan Cross (Lewis) is The Jaguar. He's an international man of action who globe-trots all over the place to stop the baddies using his Karate-fighting ways. When Anna Thompson (Bach) sends him on his latest mission, Cross leaves Sensei (Strode) (That's all he's credited as), and travels to the following places: New York, Hong Kong, Madrid, Rome, and Macao. He also goes to El Habbab, Santa Fortuna, and Belmonte, which may be made up locations. Along the way, he encounters characters such as General Villanova (Pleasence), Zina Vanacore (Capucine), Ralph Richards (Huston), and, of course, the main baddie, Adam Caine (Lee). Most of the above have goons, and Jonathan Cross beats them up. But will he finally falter in the fatal face-off at the finale?
In 1979, Karate and Kung Fu were red hot. Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, and also James Bond ruled the action universe. So it was only a matter of time until a film like Jaguar Lives! (Can't forget that exclamation point) made it to your local drive-in in '79. Joe Lewis has the emotionless deadpanity of Chuck Norris, the rough-and-tumble ways of a young Gary Busey, and the facial features and hair of Michael Dudikoff. We as the audience basically like him, but not because of any real effort on his part. At least he's not annoying like Sloane (1985). He doesn't have enough of a personality for that, which we mean in the nicest possible way, of course. He's a Martial Artist, and that's that. He acquits himself well in the action scenes, which are quite entertaining.
The whole thing has a Kill Or Be Killed/Kill And Kill Again vibe, with a few dashes of Mr. Deathman (1977) or a 70's telefilm thrown in for good measure. Sure, it's rated PG, but the filmmakers probably hoped to distract us with its dizzying array of location changes and cavalcade of star-power. When it all kicks off, we're just kind of thrown into the middle of the plot, or so it seems. Then there's a gas station fight that's reminiscent of The Instructor (1981). A bunch of yay-hoos inexplicably throw a bunch of Native American-based racial slurs at Woody Strode. Why they do this to Sensei, of all people, remains unknown.
Then we get some James Bond connections with Bach, Pleasence, Lee, and Joseph Wiseman. Pleasence is one of those "El Presidente"-style South American generals. The great John Huston plays a wheelchair-bound dude for not a lot of reason that we can glean, but so what? He was here. Same for fan favorite Christopher Lee. Hey, if he can be in wacky comedies starring opposite Eddie Deezen - such as Desperate Moves (1980) - then surely he can be here for this. Simon Andreu and Capucine round out the very impressive cast. Then Joe Lewis kicks some goons off some motorcycles. It's not bad. There's much worse stuff out there.
Yes, surprisingly, Jaguar Lives! Seems to have gotten a lot of negative reviews out there, but don't listen to them. It's solid, it delivers the action, the star-studded cast, and a variety of colorful locations. That's more than many movies of this sort can boast. If you saw that awesome poster, or that killer VHS box art, wouldn't you want to rent it? We say give Jaguar Lives! Your time. -
"Jaguar Lives!" is the first of 12 movies made by Joe Lewis, a guy who was one of the top martial artists during his day. And, as I watched this film, I was impressed by his skills...they were far better than most martial arts films of the era. In other words, he's NOT faking it...the guy is tough and his kicks and punches are pretty scary! Yet, despite this, Lewis' career never really took off and he was not the next Chuck Norris or Jackie Chan.
Whoever made "Jaguar Lives!" managed to get quite a few famous actors for the movie...something unusual for a movie starring an unknown. I saw the film simply because Christopher Lee was in the film, though he is only one of many famous folks in the movie.
Jaguar is a codename for Jonathan Cross (Lewis), an agent working for G6...some top secret American governmental organization. He's out to travel the world tracking down various elements of an international drug cartel. Again and again, after meeting with these evil characters, they set their goons on Jaguar and repeatedly he beats the snot out of them. Can he manage to destroy this international organization of evil?
I've already mentioned the positive things about the movie. On the negative side, the editing is lousy and it makes the transition from one country to another very abrupt and cheap looking. Also, Lewis' acting skills are only fair. And, finally, the script itself manages to be rather boring. But the worst was at the end with the big confrontation scene. It clearly was DARK...nighttime.
Yet, moments later it looks as if the story is taking place around noon!! Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Despite this it's not a terrible film but one that could have been better.