Totally Excellent Film!
I just saw this for free on This TV in L.A.. I'd only just heard of it here, and I don't know how, this movie is awesome. It is almost as good as the Bourne films and better than most Bond films.
Michael Caine plays a hit man who is ice cold and quick with a joke. He is known as a great actor, but he isn't better in anything than he is in this, he is superb. He is liquidating people left and right, but is not just action, he is funny as hell. There is some very low-key humor here, and the dinner he attends with the Countess is very funny.
Unfortunately, Michael Caine isn't the star. It seems that Anthony Quinn is the intended star of this film, but his part is dry, uninteresting, and always leaves you wanting less. He is a super actor, but there isn't much role here. He is a little past retirement age, but manages to Bourne three guys to un-kidnap himself in one scene, and it is a little hard to believe.
The main low point is just the overall editing and sequencing. This movie could have had half of the Quinn lines/scenes cut, and it would have only improved the story. The non-action scenes drag for the most part, mostly because they are discussing things that don't matter or sub-plots that don't turn out to be relevant to anything.
There are many high points of this film:
The music is good.
The daughter of the main bad guy is stunning.
The locations in France are astounding, I mean this is wall-to-wall a chamber of commerce film, you see all the best of France in this, and a load of sweet European cars. Come on, how many films have exploding Citroens?!?!?!
That brings us to the next point, the Alfa-Romeo Montreal/Porsche 911 chase scene is outstanding, as good as any chase in any Bond film, and without being propped up by lame props like rocket panels or smoke screens. (I'm afraid it might have been a bit too exciting, as it appears that the woman who is driving the same 911 later in the film is actually driving a similar but different 911, the same color but with massive fog lamps above the hood like a 70s rally car.)
I highly recommend this film!
(Postnote 10/23/2010: Thanks to defiant-10 for correcting me on the model of car the 911 was competing with.)