Leonard V (dir. John G. Avildsen, 1980)
Leonard V is essentially a big ol’ middle finger to the fans of the series. For one, it killed off fan favorite Francie (Anna Gunn), and completely forgot that Leonard had a daughter out there in the world. Bill Cosby is back, but he seems uninterested. Frayn is barely in the film, and too much of the plot centers on Snyderburn (an aging Joseph Cotten, post stroke, in his final film role).
There are some magical elements, but they are treated as jokey and dumb. This once noble series has now been reduced to essentially goofy pratfalls and random magical items. Random? Yes, it seems that this film has about a hundred magical items that gain and lose their magic as the plot dictates. How is Leonard supposed to take down the Nazi underground (as seen in the last film) when he can’t keep track of which items will kill them and which ones will grant them immortality. Seriously, you’ll need a diagram to get through it.
The plot also centers on XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX and the succubi from the second film are XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXX
I really hate this movie. It’s rather bad. Even thought the original director was back for this, he seems to have forgotten what made the original work. It’s like satire of Leonard was more appropriate than giving him a proper adventure. Was a limp Police Academy precursor all they could come up with? Is it supposed to be funny? It’s hard to tell.
I saw it on a bootleg ¾” cassette that I had to buy from an illegal outlet in Korea, along with the custom machine that can play the tape. If you’re really determined, you can find a copy of Leonard V, if you really need to see the film wherein Representative Dan Quayle hits a guy with a pool cue, and proceeds toXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX with some sort of dancer.
Leonard V with its XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX XXXXX and all the XXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX was essentially a nail in the coffin for the series. It would take seven years before another Leonard was made.
