I 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!).

Lay 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.

To 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.

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)