At last, my quest is complete! After many, many years, I managed to find a copy of the elusive seventh and final chapter of the "Kommissar X" series (under the title "Tiger Gang"). You can sort of see why it was final: the series' transition into the 1970s was not a smooth one. What had started in 1966 as a fun carefree James Bond-type adventure ended in 1971 as a gritty crime movie, complete with bloody deaths and one particularly graphic drug use sequence. The first indication that things have changed is the absence of the trademark credits song "I Love You, Joe Walker"; the second indication is Walker's hippie hair! What has stayed strong is his chemistry with Captain Rowland; they are perhaps the most successful buddy-team in the history of spy films (there have been some even more enduring teams in spy TV shows). This time, they are in exotic Pakistan, trying to shut down a drug smuggling ring. The film has some well-choreographed fight scenes, which are, however, ruined by the idiotic decision to play them sped-up! And there are some original ideas, like an exploding book! But on the whole, "Tiger Gang", or as I would prefer to call it "Red Tiger" (it goes well after "Blue Panther") is one mainly for the series' completists. ** out of 4.
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