Verdict
Summary
The sixth Inspector Clouseau / Pink Panther film, but the fifth and final official one with screen icon Sellers, Revenge of the Pink Panther is a hoot and a fun watch, if not as memorable as some of the previous ones. The series would go on without him – two of them compiled using unused stock footage from his work throughout the series – but it all ended here for him. Co-writer / director Blake Edwards clearly loved this material, and it shows with sometimes very charming and playful comedy bits, some of which goes by so fast it’s a shame more time wasn’t spent setting up some of the gags. It’s all in good form, though, and this is for the fans.
Plot:
Crime syndicates pool their resources together to kill Inspector Clouseau.
Review:
They’ve had it! The crime syndicates of the world are sick and tired of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers), who has foiled their plans off and on – usually completely by accident – for years. They pool their resources and hire the best assassins (look for Kenpo founder Ed Parker in a key scene early in the film) to bump Clouseau off. They fail! Big time! Clouseau not only survives several major assassination attempts, but they don’t realize it, thinking they’ve done the job. Clouseau, now able to use his signature disguises (my favorite this time is a peg-legged pirate), is able to get close to the syndicates in Hong Kong, and with the help of a pretty ex-secretary / mistress (played by Dyan Cannon) of the big boss, he goes straight to the top, and ruins them all in one fell swoop!
The sixth Inspector Clouseau / Pink Panther film, but the fifth and final official one with screen icon Sellers, Revenge of the Pink Panther is a hoot and a fun watch, if not as memorable as some of the previous ones. The series would go on without him – two of them compiled using unused stock footage from his work throughout the series – but it all ended here for him. Co-writer / director Blake Edwards clearly loved this material, and it shows with sometimes very charming and playful comedy bits, some of which goes by so fast it’s a shame more time wasn’t spent setting up some of the gags. It’s all in good form, though, and this is for the fans.
Kino Lorber’s 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray disc combo pack of Revenge of the Pink Pantherlooks and sounds great in a 4K scan, and the discs come with an audio commentary by a film historian, plus radio spots, TV spots, and two trailers, plus a reversible sleeve and a slipcover.
