C.I.A. Code Name: Alexa (1992)

Nice effects though.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Mark Graver (Lamas) a mild-mannered CIA agent but also a man of action. He won't hesitate to jump into the fray and cut through the red tape. Further evidence that he is cool are his ponytail and constant, well-groomed five o'clock shadow. (Graver's Chief: "I don't approve of your methods, but you certainly get the job done".) Graver gets the assignment of a lifetime when he goes up against a gang of terrorists led by the sadistic Victor Mahler (Cord). These baddies shoot up churches, kill cops and are just plain evil in every regard. And now they want nuclear weapons. To get them, Mahler must get a hold of "The Microchip!" and he will go to any ends to get it.Meanwhile, cops Murphy (Simpson) and Benedetti (Griggs) are also working the case, and they come across Alexa (Kinmont), a ruthless assassin working for Mahler. Soon, Graver realizes he can use Alexa to infiltrate Mahler's compound but he must undo her brainwashing. So he basically kidnaps her young daughter and keeps them both at a massive CIA compound. So now the feds, the cops and Alexa must work together to bring down Mahler because Alexa's daughter, and the fate of the world, are at stake. Will she come through, or revert back to her old ways? A major plus for this PM production is its fast pace. The movie really zooms by, and no wonder, as it has classic Lamas, Kinmont as a very tough cookie (Lamas and Kinmont together once again), Alex Cord, in a very entertaining manner, chews the scenery, a rockin' score by Louis Febre, a CIA command center that has it all from martial arts training to a gun range to an upscale restaurant - all in one room, and, last but...actually least - OJ Simpson. What other movie could claim these things? OJ puts in a mush-mouthed and flat performance, and was seemingly bored. Maybe he had other things on his mind? He does mention how he'd love to "beat the information out of her", referring to Alexa. I'm sure it's just a coincidence.Away from The Juice, this movie actually has some surprise punchfighting. Mahler is so evil, he stages deathfights at his mansion for his, and his guests' amusement. One of the fighters' trunks say the word "kickboxing" on them. Guess who wins the match? The movie has the fun clichés we all love and enjoy, and a climax at an airport you could never do today. That's why people keep coming back to movies like this. They represent a different time, and it wasn't even all that long ago. The world is much more politically correct now, which is a shame. So keep watching 80's and 90's action movies.If you're a fan of the PM style, you will like CIA Code Name: Alexa.for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

This is really really bad. Lamas shows just how a second rate actor does his job. But what makes it worth watching is the scene where OJ angrily grabs a fellow cop by the throat as if to kill them while the jukebox plays a song with the lyric "I got the evidence on you!". (Makes me want to hear the rest of the lyrics - attributed to David Gregoli and Leslie Oren but i couldn't find it on iTunes). Talk about seeing into the future...Too funny for words. The rest of the movie is forgettable. The score and songs are more interesting than the script. Ditto the sequel. Which begs the question of why they would do a sequel at all. My understanding was that foreign sales drives a lot of these B movies. Doesn't say much for the world's viewing habits.

SPOILER ALERT In this generic and forgettable action movie, Lorenzo Lamas does his usual tough guy/pretty boy act, and his future real life ex Kathleen Kinmont is ass kicking hot chick Alexa. OJ Simpson is a detective, coasting by on his since vanished genial public persona. Translation: cable TV filler. There isn't enough skin to qualify this as a Guilty Pleasure.The script has some gaping holes. Best/Worst Moment: In one jarring scene, OJ's partner expresses his aversion to the morgue. OJ responds that some of the bodies are pretty hot, or words to that effect. This vague necrophilia reference is offensive enough; but in light of the murders committed shortly after this movie was released, it is truly appalling, and therefore entertaining in an unintentional, horrible way. I was so startled that I laughed until champagne came out of my nose. Now THAT'S a Guilty Pleasure. BC

CIA special agent Graver (Lorenzo Lamas) wants the killer Alexa (Kathleen Kinmont) to become a double agent and support him in his fight against the villain Mahler (veteran actor Alex Cord). Alexa only joins the fight against the bad guy after her daughter is taken hostage (by Graver, respectively the "good guys"!). Strange methods that agents working for the government are using these days - or is it just that movies don't carry conviction anymore? Anyhow, this average action movie has a few (violent) memorable moments after all, I vote 4/10.