Review of Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978) by Jesse O — 17 Nov 2012

This was another solid entry in the franchise but, to me, it is also the weakest. This is a franchise that you can't really do much with the established formula, so you can tell that this one was probably the least inspired of all the movies in the franchise.

It's still a good and fun movie to watch, but it's a forgettable experience at best. Quite frankly, all the films are so similar that you can't really tell which film is which in the franchise, so does it really matter that this film isn't as good? I guess it doesn't really matter in the long run, but I still enjoyed this film less than others in the series.

Peter Sellers is still very good in the role as this bumbling fool, but even he, granted this was at a point where he and Blake Edwards weren't getting along, doesn't look that inspired. He still does a good job and delivers the majority of the laughs but it wasn't anything to write home about.

The plot, and this has nothing to do with the film itself, is really kind of sad because it involves everyone thinking that Clouseau is dead and this was Peter's last performance as Clouseau before he passed away and I just found that quite sad.

Basically, while this still follows the same formula as every other film in the Pink Panther series, it is somehow the worst of them all. Still silly, cartoonish and fun, but there was something missing here that made the other films better.

Perhaps the years of recycling and repeating jokes finally caught up with them.