John, not Frank!

Agents John Trevor and Frank Lassiter work in a US military base to turn elite fighters into dedicated killing machines through the use of drugs. John has had enough of this and sets off for the Philippines to Manila. There he is assisted by his old Vietnam colleague Carl Wagner. However, John has underestimated the strong influence the drugs have on his body and goes through a cold turkey withdrawal. He is supported by his new acquaintance Lee Su. Meanwhile, Frank is on his heels and the gangster boss Alok Lee is also very interested in John's secrets...

Project: Kill is directed by William Girdler, who is best known for the Jaws rip-off Grizzly. In the leading role is Leslie Nielsen, who was seen mostly in TV movies and series in the early '70s before having great success in the comedy genre with Airplane!. But surely, The Naked Gun should be mentioned here above all. John's love interest is Nancy Kwan, the mad scientist from Wonder Women. Gary Lockwood is known from 2001: A Space Odyssey. With this illustrious cast, one could hope for an entertaining thriller in Project: Kill, but unfortunately it quickly turns out to be quite a bore.

Where do we even begin. The acting varies from mediocre to bad. It even seems like no one was really into the movie. The fights are poorly choreographed and it's obvious that no one really knows what they're doing. The plot is boring and unbelievable. Most superfluous is the role of Pamela Parsons as Lynn Walker, who assists Frank in his mission. Most of the time, she stands around quietly in the background and is only allowed to dodge Frank's advances in one scene. Vic Diaz, who seems to be in every Philippine film, plays the gangster boss who has a rather undefined interest in John. Why he found out about him in the first place remains a mystery. Then, unfortunately, a lot of the runtime is spent with John and Frank running around and having boring dialogues. I can only advise everyone to avoid this snoozer.

US Blu-ray shortened

In the US, the film was released on Blu-ray along with Copkillers. It was based on a 35mm theatrical print, which is cut compared to the German VHS. It is missing a handful of plot scenes, in addition, the scene sequence in which John meets his friend Carl has been moved to the back.

Picture comparison:

US Blu-ray:

German VHS:

Runtimes:

US Blu-ray: 87:39 min.
German VHS: 90:21 min.

Comparison between the US Blu-ray by Dark Force Entertainment and the German VHS by Toppic.

Note: we used the German audio track for this comparison and translated the dialogs verbatim for the translation of this article. Therefore, it's possible that it may vary a little from the English original in terms of wording.

[00:01:03][00:01:07]

Alternative title insert. Note the misspelling in the German version.

No time difference.


[00:08:42][00:08:27]

After John says to Frank that he's had enough, more dialogue follows on the VHS.

Frank: "Okay, but why are you suddenly fed up with what you built yourself?"
John: "Because the program has changed. It's not the same as it was six years ago. It's controlled with the help of drugs from the Guys."
Frank: "But that's what it takes to..."
John: "This thing is going in the wrong direction, Frank."

German VHS: 17 secs.


[00:11:19][00:11:14]

After John has fled, there is a fade to the city of Manila. After that, a plane is seen landing. John gets into a cab at the airport.

John walks through a slum in Manila and throws some money on the ground to the children there.

Eventually, John rings the doorbell of a posh mansion. He sneaks inside and is attacked by Hook. John knocks him down. With his gun drawn, he is met by his old friend Carl. When he realizes that it is John he is surprised and wants to know from him what he is doing here.

At dinner, Carl tells us that he was not taken then because he was hit by two mines in Vietnam. John says that this was a mistake and they should have recruited him. Carl is surprised that the project was still going on and realizes that John is unhappy with it. He advises him to get out after all. John says that this has already happened and suddenly has a headache. He simply shrugs it off. Carl offers him to stay, but John says that he is in trouble. The three toast to what they have experienced and what is to come.

A small machine lands. Alok gets out of it. Two men greet him. He tells them that he wants John because he was running a secret program in the US. He wants the men to find him. Alok gets into a car.

John walks around a bit and Hook comes up to him with a drink. John says that there should be $300,000 left in the joint account. He needs half of that. John learns from Hook that the doctors no longer believe that Carl's condition will improve. John is sorry about this and he hopes he can do something for Carl, yet he needs the money. He tells Hook that he can go to sleep now too. As John takes the drink he says that sooner or later a sea eagle will crash too.

The next day, John looks at his hands. He walks through the house and is surprised by Carl. John wants to take the old car. Carl warns him that they are already on his trail. John says that he needs a boat. Carl gives him a number. John tells him that he has never been here.

German VHS: 11:20 min


[00:14:08][00:25:17]

In the US, dialogue between Frank and the inspector is missing.

The inspector says that something valuable must be involved or Alok wouldn't have come. Frank says that these are the plans, otherwise he can't tell him anything else. The inspector asks what John's motive is. Frank says that John is mentally ill. By selling the papers, John wants to enrich himself.

German VHS: 1:22 min


[00:22:21][00:34:33]

In the US, the scenes in which John goes to see Carl now follow here. However, the scene at dinner and the arrival of Alok are missing.

In the German version, Frank is seen lying on the bed for longer after hanging up the phone.

US: 7:08 min.
German VHS: 8 sec.