Basically what I'm saying up there is that even though this is the worst Peter Sellers Pink Panther movie, it's still great! In this film Philippe Douvier (Robert Webber) is trying to prove that him criminal empire is still strong. So he tries to kill Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Sellers) who has famously survived more assassination attempts then Fidel Castro and Adolf Hitler combined. And (big surprise) it doesn't work. But this time it's different, because Douvier thinks he has succeeded. So it's up to Clouseau and Cato Fong (Burt Kwouk) to stop Douvier and reclaim him own identity. Wow. Overall I think this is the weakest of Sellers's and Blake Edwards Pink Panther films for a few reasons. It just doesn't seem as enjoyable in some parts. But it's still a ton of fun to watch so honestly, go see it. Just because it's not as good as the other films, it doesn't mean it's bad.

Fifth outing for Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau finds him once again dodging assassins sent by gangsters who want him out of the way permanently. Clouseau decides to fake his death as a result, in order to go undercover to find the culprits, utilizing many more outlandish disguises in his exploits. Robert Weber and Dyan Cannon costar, and somehow(inexplicably!) Chief Inspector Dreyfuss(Herbert Lom) is still alive, and released from the mental asylum(Huh?) Though the returning cast is still game, film is just passable, since, aside from big credibility issues, it isn't quite as inspired or funny this time, but is still OK. Sadly, this was Peter Seller's last performance as Clouseau, though that wouldn't stop him from "appearing" in Part VI/Trail!

The acting is good and there are a number of funny jokes. Unfortunately the movie does include discomfiting racial humor (arguably that was common in the late 1970's), lacks a strong plot, and there is almost no interaction between Clouseau and Dreyfus, which is what made the prior films in the series so funny.Robert Webber does a great job as the villain Douvier, also able to play everything straight in the silliness. The chase scene in Hong Kong is funny without being overlong or overdone. The last scene is nice in that the romantic moment isn't spoiled by a violent attack. If only Blake Edwards didn't try to continue the series after Sellers's death.

For all Peter Sellers was noted for his comic abilities, this one was his last outing (if alive) as the bungling detective Inspector Clouseau and must be the funniest (or silliest) through Sellers' brilliance with dialogue after dialogue and chaos after chaos plus some that may cause discomfort particularly through some conspiracy to murder the great French detective. The film plot too is a bit dated and to be fair, this one is more than 30 years old and Sellers having died almost 30 years ago (on July 24th 1980) by the time I have commented on this film and it also features Clouseau's Chinese servant Cato this time stealing almost every moment through the film's length despite the fact that Burt Kwouk's earlier appearances as Cato were usually to a lesser extent. Peter Sellers delivers what he can deliver on film as Inspector Clouseau and in the aftermath of his death, several attempts have been made to revive the French man notably with Steve Martin but almost to little avail and even Geoffrey Rush was excellent in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, a film based on Roger Lewis' highly controversial book. You can do as much comedy as you want but you can't do Peter Sellers.