Sort of an Americanized James Bond where government assassin Clint Eastwood travels to different locales fighting killing and boinking (not always in that order). It's got colorful characters, beautiful women, and a cartoon villain that would be right at home in a Roger Moore Bond flick. Gorgeous Vonetta McGee is reason alone to see this. Lots of pretty ladies in this film but she's on a whole other level.

Like most of Eastwood's 70s movies it's got plenty of grit and machismo. Certainly not one for the pearl clutchers. This is also one of those movies where you are reminded of what's missing in so many of today's movies. No I'm not talking about the politically incorrect stuff. That's another conversation. I'm talking about things like pacing and stuntwork and filming on location even if it might be slightly dangerous. Everything is faster and faker and more sanitized now. But I'll get off my soapbox before I start printing pamphlets. In closing, The Eiger Sanction is far from Eastwood's best but it is a good watch. Also I really love that jeep.

Let's face it, folks, either you go for Clint Eastwood's kind of almost pure machismo (or whatever comes closest to him as a living, walking bad-ass), or you feel unnerved or turned off or just tune in for a few minutes here and there. I go for it, as it's one of those things that makes Clint what he is; he's intelligent about being a star, as his figure and persona are rarely changed much, so there's a consistency (Jack Nicholson may be a more versatile actor, maybe even better overall in his craft, but he'd have to go in a steel cage with Eastwood to see who'd be the best 70s star). The Eiger Sanction isn't any great shakes as compared to Clint at his best in the 70s- it's no High Plains Drifter or Dirty Harry or even Play Misty for Me- but it's a helluva lot of fun, and probably one of the better pictures done on the danger of mountain climbing.

Is the plot generic? Yes and no. Yes because we have seen this many times, with the ex-assassin pulled in for one more job and then finding a way to secure his retirement package with the deal and with not-surprisingly exciting (or sometimes not exciting) results. And yes, we've seen stuff like the guy's "girl" who comes in and plays a role, more or less, as the voice of reason, in this case Jemimma Black (yes, the name is basically blaxsploitation in mainstream clothing). Hell, there's even the doggone twist (yes, there's a doggone here) about who the killer actually is, and it's the sort that is handled this time with some degree of interest not so much in how it's revealed but what's done with it by the actors and the outcome of the climb.

But there's a lot more wit and fun in the script than one might give Eastwood and his writers credit for. It's tailor-made for someone like Clint, who plays this 'Doctor' of assassin time turned art history like it's nothing. He probably doesn't have much difference here in term of delivery of lines or sarcasm or the knack for beating the crap of the bad dude at the nick of time than Dirty Harry. Which is just as well; we need an anchor with the plot's likely pit-falls, with co-star Kennedy the only normal one among the possibly shifty characters (save for whoever plays Dragon, which is also filmed appropriately creepy and near originally). And it's the combo of humor ("Screw Marlon Brando!") and the suspense that arrives in that final act on the Eiger that makes the picture work. It's not entirely superbly directed- you can tell Eastwood is still working his way through doing certain techniques and frankly can't film a love scene at all- but for what it's worth, it's good, under-looked stuff in the cannon, perfect for a 'sick day' viewing. 7.5/10

Wonderfully photographed story dealing with betrayal , secret agents action , greed and killings . A classical art professor and collector called Jonathan (Clint Eastwood went on a three-day climbing course in Yosemite National Park, then practiced at home for several months) , Hamlock (it is a venom , no less) who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend . He is assigned by Dragon (Thayer David) to discover a killer during a dangerous mountain climbing (in which Clint Eastwood preformed the sequence where his character hangs off the side of a mountain by a cable himself without the use of a stunt doublé) . Meanwhile , a treacherous , gay spy (Jack Cassidy) deceives Hamlock , but the latter seeks vengeance . The premise is the following : one of his team is a killer but who?

This thrilling film has suspense , noisy action , outrageously overblown roles , tension and extraordinary climbing images . Beautiful Swiss Alps scenery falls to partially compensate for several dreary lapses , faults , ungodly length (128 minutes) and script's shortcomings . Based on novel by Trevanian , though novelist Rod Whitaker (Trevanian) scorned the film as "vapid" and blamed the production for "the death of a promising young climber" . The shoot marked the last time that anyone was allowed to climb the "Totem Pole" in Monument Valley , in return for permission to film there, climbers with the production had to remove all of the pitons, which had accumulated from years of climbing, on their way down. Exciting final climax does not make up for movies's various gaps and flaws . Clint is pretty good as a college professor by day and superagent by night sent to expose a murderer during a risked mountain climb . Clint Eastwood did all of his own stunts, including the scene where he cuts his safety line over a drop of at least one thousand feet ; the only stunt he did not perform was a 2500-foot drop, for which a dummy was used . He is well accompanied by George Kennedy because of the friendship that they had formed on their previous picture, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974). Good as well as international support cast playing brief interpretations and with silly names , such as Vonetta McGee , Jack Cassidy , Heidi Brühl , Thayer David , Reiner Schöne and special mention to Gregory Walcott as Pope . Very real climbing images as well as perfectly staged scenes , being marvelously photographed in Panavisión by Frank Stanley , he fills the screen with excitement and suspense ; showing outrageously mountain outdoors . Atmospheric and evocative musical score by the great John Williams , pre-Spielberg collaboration .

This pseudo-James Bond flick was professionally directed by Clint Eastwood , though being overlong and contains some faults . Filmmaker Eastwood better known for his ¨Dirty Harry¨ series such as : The enforcers , Sudden impact , Deed pool ; he subsequently directed his overtly personal movies such as Unforgiven , The Bridges of Madison County , Mystic River , Million Dollar Baby , Changeling and Gran Torino . The Eiger sanction results to be one of just a handful of Clint Eastwood movies in the spy / espionage genre , the films include Firefox (1982), Absolute power (1997 , and Open fire (1993) . Here Eastwood contribute to create an acceptable film , plenty of opportunities for Clint to strut his climbing skills , it's all in good fun and often unintentionally funny .