Review of The Uranium Conspiracy

Since it is virtually impossible to determine what parts of "The Uranium Conspiracy" were directed by either of its two co-directors (Gianfranco Baldanello of "Colt in the Hand of the Devil" and Menahem Golan of "The Delta Force"), it is difficult to praise the appropriate person for the parts of this Israeli-German-Italian movie that succeed. The first two-thirds of this scenic, picture-postcard lensed, travelogue thriller qualify as straightforward espionage boilerplate. Unless you watch the widescreen version of this movie, you cannot properly appreciate cinematographer Adam Greenberg's impressive pictorial compositions. The final third bristles with machine gun violence as the heroes make sure that 'crime doesn't pay' for the villains. Five scenarists collaborated on the screenplay, unless each had a hand in rewriting it. Again, it is hard to tell who is liable for the good, the bad, and the ugly in this lightweight crime thriller about a terrorist attempt to ship uranium to evil foreign powers. Basically, this European actioneer pits the Mossad, a.k.a. Israel Intelligence, against villains who display little regard for human life. Renzo (Fabio Testi of "Gang War in Naples") is a hired troubleshooter, and Israel Intelligence has infiltrated him into a uranium mine in Zaire that resembles a prison. Renzo is out to learn as much as he can about the Baron's (Siegfried Rauch of "The Eagle Has Landed") efforts to export the key ingredient for atomic bombs. The Mossad agent who serves as Renzo's go-between, Dan (Assaf Dayan of "The Day the Fish Came Out"), has more faith in him than his superiors. Renzo is good with his hands in a tight spot, and he is suave enough to seduce ladies. Eventually, Renzo goes to bed with Helga (Janet Agren of "Seven Dangerous Girls") who works as a secretary for the Baron at a Salzburg, Austria, chemical processing plant where she answers phones, performs simple typing duties, and is pretty much left alone to do her job. She falls for Renzo and furnishes him with enough incriminating information to raise the Baron's hackles. The Baron and his plug-ugly henchmen take Helga in for questioning. They want her to identify Renzo. Renzo and she cross paths and Renzo manages to rescue Helga from the Baron. A lively little boat chase through the canals of Amsterdam, comparable to a similar chase in "Puppet on a Chain," ensues. Renzo is captured, but Helga suffers a far worse fate. Helga's departure about half-way through "The Uranium Conspiracy" endows this thriller with more depth than it would have been otherwise. She is like the sacrificial lamb in the James Bond movies. One of the two girls that 007 stands between usually dies at the hands of the villains. Furthermore, Renzo doesn't get the girl at fadeout, and he remembers her after she has passed. A surprise like this is as radical as this movie gets, and it imparts greater dramatic weight to the film. Our heroes team up after the Baron has taken Renzo hostage aboard the freighter carrying enough uranium to make 25 plutonium bombs. Israel Intelligence attaches electric mines to the hull of the ship. Everything is set to go boom when Dan refuses to let Renzo die in the process. Mind you, Dan's superiors lack Dan's faith in Renzo. Dan sneaks aboard the ship, rescues Renzo, and a firefight breaks out for control of the ship. Unfortunately, the villains overwhelm our protagonists, but Israel Intelligence is on the ball. After almost detonating the explosives on the ship's hull, the Israel send in a team to wrest control of the ship from the Baron. This part of "The Uranium Conspiracy" moves much faster with the shootout. The Mossad masquerade as Spanish Customs to board the ship. This final firefight delivers griping action. Again, the fuse in this explosive thriller burns slowly in the first two-thirds of "The Uranium Conspiracy" until it ignites the fireworks in the final third.