Condorman was one of several films around the time that were trying to conduct a superhero spoof – see the likes of Hero at Large (1980), The Return of Captain Invincible (1983) and tv’s The Greatest American Hero (1980-2). However, Condorman is not sure whether it is a spoof or is trying to play it straight, and ends up just shuffling around on screen in an awkward embarrassment. Almost all resemblance to The Game of X (1965), the Robert Sheckley novel it is based on, which was written as a spoof of James Bond, has been thrown out – the book features a man mistaken for a secret agent who becomes caught in an international caper but no comic-book/superhero elements. What the film instead ends up like is one of the Roger Moore James Bond films, especially Moonraker (1979), where the Bond series was taken over by absurd cartoony stunts and gadget set-pieces. The plot stumbles along in fits and starts – it is never more than a hitching post for the gags, stunts and European locations. Much of the film gives the impression of having been shot in a hurry. The stunt team performs enthusiastically but the photography and particularly the process work on the various cars and boats is poor.

Condorman stars Michael Crawford who at the time was stuck in the decade-long career lull that came between his appearance as the nasally whiny Frank Spencer in the hit sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em (1973-6) and his unlikely rediscovery as a romantic hero on stage in the Andrew Lloyd Webber The Phantom of the Opera (1988). Phantom of the Opera fans tend to be surprised after seeing Condorman as Michael Crawford is still stuck in Frank Spencer mode here, playing with a whiny introverted effeminacy that more than gives the impression that either he or the character are in the closet. Certainly, as a hero, Michael Crawford is a complete wet blanket. On the plus side, the great and underappreciated Barbara Carrera adds her sizzling, sultry presence to the mix, while Oliver Reed glowers thuggishly as the villain.

Director Charles Jarrott previously made the disastrous musical remake of Lost Horizon (1973). Co-writer Glenn Gordon Caron would later go onto create tv’s Moonlighting (1985-9) and Medium (2005– ) and direct the appealing pyrokinesis fantasy Wilder Napalm (1993). Other adaptations of Robert Sheckley’s works include The Tenth Victim (1965) and The Prize of Peril (1983) both set in futures where human hunting has become regarded as a televised sport, and the future body-snatching/time-travel film Freejack (1992).