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"Cleo" is full of outrageous costumes, hip dialogue, action, and funky music composed by Dominic Frontiere (starting with the opening credits song, "Playing with Fire"). There is a fair amount of graphic violence. Cleo is a fun character; she's sort of like an African-American female James Bond (in fact, I found the tone and pacing of this film to be similar to that of the Bond flicks of this time period). The film makes good use of its Far East setting.
Dobson gets solid support from the rest of the cast, but I especially loved Norman Fell (an actor best known as TV's Mr. Roper from "Three's Company") as Cleo's grouchy but likeable boss. Fell and Dobson have a really enjoyable chemistry in their scenes together.
"Cleo" is a fascinating film that could, I imagine, inspire some lively analyses grounded in race, gender, economics, post-colonial politics, criminology, and other fields of inquiry. Or you could just enjoy it as a fun, slightly campy adventure flick with a kick-...heroine.
Cleopatra Jones tends to find herself up against Evil White Lesbian dope queens, and Stella Stevens is certainly nicer to look at than Shelly Winters (in the original). Her climatic fight scene ... with the foxy black Cleo is OVER THE TOP! The ladies must have been covered with bruises after shooting this (NO stand-ins apparent!).
As for Stella's "wild" outfits, they are conservative compared to the title heroine's!
A "must see" for Blaxploitation fans!
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