Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Good movie but grossly overrated

Did you people see the same film I saw?

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

BILLION DOLLAR BRAIN is the third in the Harry Palmer trilogy of spy movies and a far drop in quality from the excellent first in the series, THE IPCRESS FILE. The film feels very much like an inferior Bond movie which is odd given that the whole reason behind the series was to be an 'anti Bond' with a greater emphasis on seriousness and realism. The story sees Palmer come out of retirement to go after a mysterious megalomaniac bent on world domination, with the story set in an icy Finland for the most part.This was an early film in the career of director Ken Russell and his inexperience shows. Some of the staging is okay but the action feels oddly flat and lifeless and the actors struggle to make their characters interesting, Karl Malden a cast in point. Sure, the story does benefit from an entertaining and original choice of villain, but everything that happens feels clichéd and oddly muted, and the end result is merely average.

Former MI5 Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is now a private detective. He gets a phone call from a computer voice directing him to a package in an airport locker. He's told to go to Helsinki where he gives the thermos to Anya (Françoise Dorléac) and his old friend Leo Newbigen (Karl Malden). He is soon suspicious of Leo and his mysterious boss. He is coerced to work for MI5 Colonel Ross (Guy Doleman) who tells him that the thermos is filled with a deadly virus and the conspiracy is headed by an oil tycoon General Midwinter (Ed Begley).This spy thriller isn't serious or realistic. It's basically a lower grade espionage movie with a convoluted premise. It does jump around a little with out-of-the-way locales, virus, beauties and Russians. Director Ken Russell made a competent but somewhat unimpressive movie. It's a low tension mystery rather than a high power thriller. Then the movie turns into a spoof with the cartoon villain. Its craziness is just enough fun to be interesting.

Harry Palmer has left the British Secret Service and become a private detective.He has to deliver a thermos flask to an old friend in Helsinki.Soon he finds that he has entered the world of a Texas billionaire who thinks he can bring about a popular uprising in the Soviet Union with a help of a sophisticated computer.Billion Dollar Brain (1967) is directed by Ken Russell.It's based on Len Deighton's novel.This is the third of the Harry Palmer movies.Michael Caine was born to play this part.Karl Malden is terrific as Leo Newbigen.Francoise Dorleac does good job as Anya.It's pretty enjoyable to watch the over the top performance of Ed Begley.Guy Doleman plays the part of Colonel Ross and Oskar Homolka is Colonel Stok.In a small part we see Donald Sutherland playing a Scientist at computer.Also Åke Lindman and Pirkko Mannola are seen in the movie.Åke gets to use the machine gun.The movie is interesting for me mostly because it was mostly shot in Finland.It's pretty great to watch Finland as it was then.Also the the moments taking place in Riga were actually shot in Porvoo.There are some nice moments in this film.The first time we see Malden when he is in the sauna.Very Finnish.It get even better when Anya joins him there.The ice breaking under those vehicles is pretty amazing.For Finns this is almost a must-see.

A spy flick from '67 produced by Harry Saltzman (hold the Broccoli) with titles by Maurice Binder- the bad news is that Connery is nowhere to be seen! Instead we're stuck with Michael Caine in a buffoonish, distinctly-British 007 ripoff.You ever have a headache on a perfectly lovely Spring day? The air is full, the trees are in bloom, the sun just won't go down... but your throbbing head just ruins the day. This movie is that headache.I never quite got Michael Caine's appeal... he always seemed to be a benign British dullard- two steps behind everyone else in the room. Here he does his own Austin Powers impression as "dashing" secret agent Harry Palmer in black-rimmed glasses, crooked teeth and a shaggy perm. Whereas Sean Connery brought a raw masculine swagger to the role of super-spy, Mr. Caine looks ready for a shawl and warm glass of milk. His superior arrives and asks him to return to work and Caine earnestly pleads with him: "Please... sir... I... don't... want... to... come... back... to...work." You have just witnessed the most dramatic scene in the film.Director Ken Russell- before exposing his insanity in films like "Tommy"- directs here with a sprawling stupidity; in trying to imitate the Bond movies by-the-numbers he exposes the film's weak script and lackluster performances. Karl Malden- usually consistently wonderful- shows up as a panicky communist double agent. Palmer's woman has nothing on any of the Bond girls- she's short, blond, and wears black-rimmed glasses and spends most of the film berating him about his commitment issues.Michael Caine has the same look on his face when he's tied up and horsewhipped by an enemy that he does buttering his everything bagel. It's impossible to hate the guy, but impossible to love him, either. In fact this whole movie spontaneously unravels as it unreels... like a car crash... or a headache...I need some Tylenol.GRADE: D+