Review of Sol Madrid

Sol Madrid (1968)
2/10
Characterless, plotless mess
1 October 2002
2 out of 10

Why even bother giving names to these plot advancers? It is a reach even to call them characters, since there is zero context, characterization or texture provided. "Supercop" infiltrates "Latin Drug Lord's" operation using "Blonde Moll" who is on the run from "Mob Guy." Who are these people? Apparently the director didn't care either, all he wanted was a few gun and knife fights to occur in front of a camera.

Unfortunately for the viewer, the plot itself is just as underdeveloped. I defy anyone to explain why the Michael Conrad character exists, why Sol Madrid does 3/4ths of the things he does (or how he could be allowed by his superiors to do so), or why "Mob Guy" decides to reenact the desert hotel scene from Touch of Evil.

The "mafia meeting" at the beginning is the silliest I have ever seen. And, no, this isn't supposed to be a comedy.

David McCallum and Stella Stevens believe the best way to deliver lines in an "intense" scene is to yell them, otherwise, any inflection is superfluous.

The only morsels of merit are seeing a completely unbelievable yet interesting way to smuggle drugs play out and Ricardo Montalban, who, despite the decent resumes of the other actors, is the only one who decided to employ his talents instead of pocketing his paycheck simply for showing up on the set.
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