The Dallas Connection (1994) User Reviews

Disappointing Andy Sidaris fare

[gridoon · 5/10 · 20 December 2006]

"The Dallas Connection" delivers the expected breasts, travelogue footage, explosions, and even some legitimate plot twists, but it has too many drawn-out non-action sequences, probably the result of Andy Sidaris & son Christian stretching the film to make it reach the 90-minute mark. As the female lead, Sam Phillips is a poor replacement for Suzi Simpson (not to mention Dona Speir). Suzi did a very good job in "Enemy Gold", and I wonder why Sidaris didn't cast her again. Sam is portrayed as useless in the action scenes. She is easily controlled by an unarmed man, while in "Enemy Gold" Suzi easily disarmed an armed man in about 3 seconds - see the difference? Julie K. Smith and Wendy Hamilton (a stunningly beautiful woman) do about 95% stripping and 5% action. Julie Strain is fine as long as she doesn't have to speak - when she does, the illusion is ruined. In terms of the female action quotient, this is probably Sidaris' most disappointing film since "Malibu Express". (**)

I/WAR is not an anagram; it's an acronym.

[BA_Harrison · 5/10 · 13 December 2012]

Howsabout this for dumb plot: a group of sexy female killers-for-hire (code-names Black Widow, Cobra and Scorpion) bump off several scientists, and are then given the task of getting hold of four computer chips that, when combined, can control a satellite with the power to pinpoint the exact locations of all of the world's weapons; it's a mission that might prove impossible to complete were the chips sensibly locked away in a high security vault, but instead each is hidden inside a medallion and worn out-and-about by government agents, making life a whole lot easier for the big-breasted assassins.

With such a laughable set-up and very little in the way of decent (non-sex related) action, The Dallas Connection is easily one of the weaker films in my Sidaris 'Girls, Guns & G-Strings' box set, but even though the film's writer/director Drew Sidaris possesses even less talent than his father Andy when it comes to telling a decent story, he's a chip off the old block when it comes to hot women, The Dallas Connection featuring some of the most physically impressive ladies of the whole series.

Leggy Julie Strain is back once again, as head assassin Black Widow, wearing her usual assortment of bondage themed outfits and skirts that fail to reach as far as her stocking tops; assisting her is blonde Julie K. Smith (as Cobra), owner of the film's most impressive chest, and scorching brunette Wendy Hamilton (as Scorpion) who really knows how to work the wet suit and thigh-high PVC boots look. Working for the good-guys, we get silicone-chested Sam Phillips as Samantha Maxx, one of the agents tasked with wearing a medallion. All the ladies get nekkid at some point or other to get it one with the film's assorted hunks, making this one just about worth a watch despite the dreadful story, diabolical acting and dull direction.

Pretty ladies, bad flick

[refinedsugar · 4/10 · 1 August 2000]

If you've seen one Sidaris flick (even those directed by his son), I think you've seen 'em all. Bullets, babes, explosions. That was the formula and 'The Dallas Connection' is no different. The story is silly - not really worth a mention - and the budgetary restraints keep the action scenes on the short side.

The real value in a Sidaris flick are the women on display. Supplied here by Playboy Playmate Wendy Hamilton & Penthouse Pets Julie Strain, Samantha Phillips and Julie K. Smith (one woman who seriously makes me drool). Her cowgirl grind in the club and the hot tub scene easily take top honors.

Take away the little bit of action and this is a glorified T&A flick. You know this, I know this. It doesn't waste any time getting to the good stuff. Julie Strain has a sex scene intertwined with the opening credits. Unless you're in pursuit of seeing some pretty ladies get naked in a format only the Sidaris name could supply don't say I didn't warn you otherwise.

Late Night Cable's Greatest Hits

[codmon · 3 February 1999]

There is one name today in the realm of B style soft core skin flicks and that is Sidaris. This is the kind of movie that if you saw it when you were 13, you wouldn't leave your room for a week. This movie knows it is an exploitation flick and doesn't take itself too seriously. It is actually fun to watch as more than just a parade of large breasts. Of course, there is a strip club sequence that is tough to forget. I wouldn't rent this one, but it kept me awake on cable.

Yow. Pass the taco sauce Zippy, this Ding Dong is a little dry.

[mr-merkin-muffley · 1/10 · 3 June 2006]

I watched this movie last night - largely because of all the little people in the cast. Their guns were bigger than they were. Those secret radios that the good guys were given - what were they, Sony Walk abouts? Do the actors get paid when they make something like this? My favorite little guy was Bruce Penhall (from Chips), if he's 4'9" tall I'll eat my boots. Best scene was when of the little guys was at the beach with his jet ski and a babe shows up wearing a thong bathing suit and leather high heeled boots that went up to her crotch. I can't count the number of times I've seen that same outfit at the beach - it's so practical. I kept waiting for Erik Estrada to make a cameo, everything else I've seen his personal butt boy (Bruce Penhall) in has also had Erik making a grease show of it. Erik was probably booked making his land commercials for that hillbilly resort in Arkansas. All this film lacked was a mud wrestling scene.

So bad

[grantss · 1/10 · 20 July 2022]

I had my expectations set very low for this and it still came in worse than that. Non-existent plot, poor acting, poor everything - it just stinks.

Avoid at all costs.

Anything resembling a storyline was out the window, only to be replaced by lewd sex scenes...

[paul_haakonsen · 2/10 · 14 July 2022]

Granted that the 1994 action movie "The Dallas Connection" is another movie in the L. E. T. H. A. L. series, I have to admit that I wasn't harboring much of any high expectations to the movie as it is a Sidaris movie after all. And this particular movie is written and directed by Christian Drew Sidaris, so once again Andy Sidaris is not at the wheel.

Now, I have recently sat through a lot of the Sidaris movies, and I have to say that "The Dallas Connection" is undoubtedly the worst one yet. The storyline was right out the window in order to make room for an excessive and wholly unnecessary amount of lewd sex scenes. Yeah, it was seriously too much, and hence it was a very difficult movie to sit through. It was just toe-curling to watch any shred of storyline being tossed right out the window in order to cram in another cringe-worthy sex scene.

The acting performances in "The Dallas Connection" were hardly an issue, since there almost was no storyline that required acting performances to be delivered, and let's just face it, sex scenes doesn't warrant any skill in acting. The cast ensemble includes the likes of Bruce Penhall, Julie Strain, Rodrigo Obregón and Samantha Phillips whom all returns to the franchise, also having been seen in previous Sidaris movies.

There was no doubt about the fact that "The Dallas Connection" was not my cup of tea, and I managed to endure a mind-boggling 60 minutes out of the 94 minute runtime. But by then I just couldn't stand watching this nonsense anymore. And believe you me, this is not a movie that I will ever be returning to.

My rating of "The Dallas Connection" lands on a two out of ten stars.

Thrill

[rameshwarsinghcharan · 4/10 · 11 October 2020]

Good thrill movie but with some open intimate scene

More Julie Strain! More Sidaris!

[BandSAboutMovies · 5/10 · 17 May 2019]

This is the second of the L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies films that were directed by Drew Sidaris, with help from his father and mother in production. This time, there's a big scientific convention in Dallas, but the scientists in charge of a sophisticated, state-of-the-art, satellite weapon-tracking system are being killed off.

Bruce Penhall is Chris Cannon again with Mark Barriere returning as Mark Austin. Julie Strain - Black Widow - and Rodrigo Obregon - Antonio Morales - are also back as the bad guys. Samantha Phillips joins the team as Samantha Maxx. You may remember her as Alchemy in Phantasm 2. Plus, there's also Julie K. Smith (one of four girls to do both Playboy and Penthouse and yes, I can tell you that Alexandria Karlsen, Linn Thomas and Victoria Zdrok are the others) as Cobra, Wendy Hamilton as Scorpion (December 1991 Playboy Playmate of the Month) and Gerald Okamura as Fu.

The International World Arms Removal project is a satellite system which has the ability to detect any weapons, no matter their size and even under the most difficult weather conditions. Soon, Black Widow and her troops are trying to take out all of the scientists, who are under the protection of Agent Maxx.

This is the only film in the Sidaris universe where the agents work for I/WAR (International/World Arms Removal), but late in the film, it's revealed that Strain's character works for L.E.T.H.A.L.

Look, any movie that starts with Julie Strain tying a dude up and riding him reverse cowgirl until she kills him isn't going to be all bad. This one has more actual sex scenes than the films of the elder Sidaris, but perhaps that's what people wanted as we moved into the 1990's.

Watch it for the ladies

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 18 December 2014]

The Dallas Connection is one of the later films from Andy Sidaris. Well, strictly speaking, this one was actually directed by his son Drew and produced by Andy. But you would be doing better than me if you noticed any difference because no matter who directed this one, it's exactly the same as all the others that go under the Sidaris name. Like the rest, this one is an action flick that relies very heavily on beautiful large breasted women who lose their clothes on a regular basis. Without the ladies, most of Sidaris films would be hopeless and this one is no exception.

Its story really isn't worth describing, except to say that it revolves around a trio of professional female killers called Black Widow, Cobra and Scorpion. These femme fatales are played by Julie Strain, Julie K. Smith and Wendy Hamilton. Fortunately, all of them disrobe frequently to frolic about in, amongst other places the shower and a strip club. Julie Strain seduces a restrained man in dominatrix PVC gear in a standout moment but best of all is the truly mesmerizingly sexy Julie K. Smith frolicking around in a hot tub with some lucky 'victim'. Its soft-core erotica basically but with a very high calibre of eye candy. Aside from this the plot-line plods along in an uninspired way, although there are some agreeably stupid moments like death by exploding golf ball and the ludicrous blow-up doll scene. My advice would be to watch it for the ladies and tolerate the rest.

A chip of the old block

[pmtelefon · 5/10 · 24 November 2020]

Writer/director Christian Sidaris took his father Andy's formula and ran with it. He does his father's franchise justice. The story and the acting aren't much better than in his father's movies but , Man!, the women sure are. "The Dallas Connection" has incredible collection of incredible looking women. Which is my favorite? Impossible to answer. This movie is one of the best of the series.

More tacky fun from the Sidaris clan

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 29 June 2011]

It's impossible to dislike any late-night cable TV fare that immediately gets down to trashy business with a kinky bondage-themed sex'n'kill set piece that's obviously lifted from "Basic Instinct." Of course, this being a movie from Andy Sidaris and his son Christian we also get the usual copious amount of yummy female nudity, funky gadgets, sizzling soft-core sex scenes, exotic across the globe locations, an amusing sense of goofy humor, and big splashy explosions. Oh yeah -- and there's a plot to go along with all this stuff. A team of assassins lead by the lethal, yet alluring Black Widow (the divinely buxom and leggy Julie Strain in peak wicked form) are determined to kill scientist Antonio Morales (a solid performance by Sidaris film regular Rodrigo Obregon), who has a computer chip for a new top security satellite. A trio of agents -- Chris Cannon (amiable Bruce Penhall), Mark Austin (the equally likable Mark Barriere), and token honey Samantha Maxx (an appealing portrayal by the foxy Samantha Phillips) -- are assigned to protect Morales. Naturally, the gaggle of gorgeous gals who bare their delectable feminine wares with pleasing regularity is the main attraction and source of entertainment: Strain does a couple of scorching S&M-type numbers prior to killing two (lucky) dudes, Phillips looks positively smashing in her birthday suit while both the extremely busty Julie K. Smith and cute brunette Wendy Hamilton as hit babes Cobra and Scorpion further spice things up. Alas, for the most part this picture strangely skimps on the action until the rousing conclusion, but that's a forgivable oversight. Besides, how can one not dig a movie in which the front for the assassins is working as strippers at a local rowdy cowboy bar? Both Mark Morris' glossy cinematography and Ron Di Iulio's snazzy'n'jazzy rocking score do the trick. Enjoyable junk.

Sidaris do it better

[pumaye · 7/10 · 31 July 2001]

The usual action flesh fantasy for male viewers, this Sidaris flick is not as good as a few others, but the girls looks great (there is my favorite Playmate, Wendy Hamilton, that doesn't show as much as I hope, but it's still a threat; there is also Julie Strain's Black Widow, with an opening scene Basic Instinct style that it's really good) and the action is good enough to let the 90 minutes of the movie pass without any boring moment. The plot is contrived, but it's part of the show: for a Sidaris movie it's a good enough one

A Typical Andy Sidaris Production

[Uriah43 · 4/10 · 8 December 2022]

This film begins with an attractive woman who goes by the nickname of "Black Widow" (Julie Strain) seducing a French scientist and then killing him in his apartment bedroom. The scene then shifts to South Africa where another scientist is killed by a pretty blonde assassin known only as "Cobra" (Julie K. Smith). Not long afterward, yet another scientist is killed in Hong Kong by a female assassin who goes by the name of "Scorpion" (Wendy Hamilton). As might be expected, since these three scientists were all working together on an international project of great importance, federal agents are quickly dispatched to Dallas in order to protect the only scientist left from the original group. The problem is that the agency hired to protect him has been compromised, and the team of assassins know exactly where to find the remaining scientist and all of the information he has available to him. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this film had an interesting plot and featured a number of attractive actresses like Samantha Phillips (as "Samantha Maxx") along with both Julie Strain and Julie K. Smith to enhance the scenery. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite enough as the script was rather basic and the acting could have used some improvement as well. In short, this was a typical Andy Sidaris production and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Three down - one to go (#10)

[unbrokenmetal · 7/10 · 25 May 2008]

This is the 10th out of my 12 reviews for the works of Andy Sidaris, in chronological order. He let his son direct here and is credited for executive producer only. Nevertheless, „The Dallas Connection" (aka „Deadworks" in Europe) is one of the best of the „Lethal Ladies" series! The story goes like this: 4 scientists share a secret. Three beautiful ladies bring an amusing death to 3 of these scientists. For example, one of them explodes after seeing Wendy Hamilton in a very short skirt on the golf course... a perfectly normal reaction, I thought. ANYWAY, Morales (Rodrigo Obregon) is the fourth scientist who now needs to be protected from these assassins played by Julie Strain, Julie K. Smith and Wendy Hamilton. Samantha Phillips, Bruce Penhall and Mark Barriere play the good guys. The story is told straight ahead, with less fillers than a few others of the series, basically there is just one unnecessary scene in the restaurant when Samantha seduces Morales, though only in his daydream. Julie Strain gets a sweet line they even used for the trailer: „Rape these bitches and kill them... I know I would". Make a list of all other actresses who could say that like they mean it - on a postcard.

Sidaris' Masterpiece

[hyperspheroid · 9/10 · 25 July 2004]

This flic will be remembered as a classic for the some of the funniest dead-pan dialogue and gratuitous shots of T&A to fill one of the most absurd plots since "Gymkata". From the asteroid showers, to the extended shower scenes, to the blow-up doll decoy, to the awkward reactions to the horse race which obviously isn't taking place, this movie never stops entertaining.

It stays perfectly on the line between over-the-top farce while appearing to try to be a "real" film, in true Ed Wood fashion. It's amusing to read the comments of disappointed viewers who attempted to derive substance from this B-movie. This is one to watch late night on cable, preferably with some good friends and a keg.

Okay action movie

[Skragg · 6/10 · 4 February 2006]

Spoilers. I have a complaint about these Andy Sidaris films, that has nothing to do with things like low budgets or hiring ex- porn stars as actors (pretty meaningless complaints to me). I mentioned this about the Sidaris film "Seven", but they always seem to end the same way (the three or so that I've seen)- the "villainess" is always shot or blown up by the "heroine". Which sounds understandable, but it's often done in a way that looks pretty forced, as though it's the ONLY way it could be done, as opposed to say, the male hero doing this to the villainess. This has been done in so many other stories, too, that it's a real adventure story cliché, even though I never seem to see it made fun of as one, even in the "Austin Powers" type comedies. This one also uses, loosely, the "Pussy Galore" idea (another cliché, of course, good or bad), because the two "evil" women end up being on the side of the good guys (only pretending to try to kill the two men), then killing the woman they pretended to work for. I just think a better thing would have been for the "Scorpion" and "Cobra" characters to really BE killers, to really try to kill the two men (during those over-the-top seduction scenes) and to have a big "showdown" scene with the men themselves. That would have been "over-the-top" in a more unusual way, almost like something out of some of those "Destroyer" books. It might sound strange to half-way "analyze" Andy Sidaris movies, but again, they rehash some ideas the same way other movies do. And that's just it - there's almost no mistake low-budget action films make that big budget ones don't ALSO make.

Cult gem!

[bradbear-65903 · 7/10 · 18 February 2022]

Does the plot make sense? No. Was it well written? No. Is it full of hot women and nekkid breasts? Oh yeah! And, fun fact, it's labeled under Tubis cult classic category. Because it's AWESOME! It's a Sidaris film and anybody who loves drive in cinema knows what they're in for.

Does well what it intends to do.

[BarneyGrapes · 17 March 2023]

Excellent for what it intends Colorful, nice costumes for the girls. Good looking guys.

Rigid cardboard acting, but in an amusing way.

Jet skis, motor boats, nice pacing, great explosions that would rival Hollywood (unlike todays computer generated b movie explosions), fun characters, nice variety in the women (and cute!), and on.

I wouldn't say it lacks action. Just trends more to spy and espionage intrigue. In a goofy way of course.

Imdb/amazon...stop with the 600 character review minimum. B movies dont require a New York Times review.

Imdb/amazon...stop with the 600 character review minimum. B movies dont require a New York Times review.

Very entertaining.