Jeez, there's really nothing good to say about this movie. Dean Martin was always an inept actor, even when he had good scripts, which he did not have here. I have seen Sharon Tate in a few good roles, but I think her voice was looped by other actresses. Nancy Kwan was good in a few other roles, but she has nothing to work with here. Elke Sommer, often wooden, gives the best performance, oddly enough, and looks wonderful. But the real problem is the rotten script. Random explosions, inexplicable car chases, unconvincing fights. None of it very good, and most of it repeated pointlessly in multiple scenes. Is it bad enough to be funny-good? I think it's just bad. I think the producers wanted it to be a parody of the James Bond movies, without realizing that the Bond movies were already self-parodies.

When Count Contini steals a trainload of gold bars, the economies of the US and the UK only have a limited time before collapse. ICE agent Matt Helm is put on the case along with a clumsy assistant and goes undercover to find and retrieve the gold. Or at least that what the plot is meant to be – in reality Dean Martin flirts with beautiful women, easily fights off groups of men and gets a few of his songs played in the background. And that's it…..it's like a spy sketch in `The Dean Martin Show' rather than a film. This follow-up to the better `The Silencers' has no plot to speak of and nobody seems to be trying to make one happen. Martin looks far too old to be chasing girls and just plods through this film. The rest of the cast are made up of women who are glamorous and easily fall for Martin's charms. This spy spoof manages to be neither a good spoof or a good spy movie. Any action scenes are laughable and it is totally without interest. The music has dated it badly and it just seems to have been made to cash in on the popularity of Dean Martin post-Jerry Lewis partnerships. How they managed to make a series of 4 of these I'll never know. A spy spoof should be a spy movie with it's tongue in it's cheek – like the Man From UNCLE for example. This has it's tongue in it's cheek only because it's slumped there in a comatose! Overall if you like Dean Martin then you may like this. If you're looking for a fun film then go somewhere else.

Though it wasn't planned that way, The Wrecking Crew became the last of the Matt Helm series that Dean Martin brought to the screen. At the end credits it was announced that the audience could expect a new Matt Helm film The Ravagers would be coming out next. It wasn't to be because Dino frankly got bored of the whole thing and in those days Martin would bore easily. You could tell it on the screen and in his performance that the Matt Helm series just wasn't interesting him any longer. The Wrecking Crew was filmed minus Beverly Adams as Martin's private secretary Lovey Kravezit and the role of his boss MacDonald was taken over by John Larch in place of James Gregory. It was not as ridiculous as the third film in the series, The Ambushers which was clearly the worst of them. This one involved Nigel Green stealing a shipment of gold bullion worth a cool billion. The gimmick here is that the USA does not want anyone knowing that such a shipment was stolen because of the financial implications. Which is why they've sent in Dino to get it back. One thing this film does not lack is the bevy of beautiful women working with and against Dino in his mission. They include in this film, Tina Louise, Elke Sommer, Nancy Kwan and Sharon Tate. The Wrecking Crew turned out to be the tragic Ms. Tate's next to last film. Like the James Bond films, the Helm series also had some nice spy gadgets. The Wrecking Crew had one of the best of them. It was a portable helicopter that you carried in the trunk of your car. It gets Dino and Sharon out of a tight spot. It has to be seen to be believed. Just as well the Matt Helm series ended here if Dino was as bored with it as he plainly shows.

the wrecking crew was the last of Dino's Matt helm flicks. i always thought as bad as some people thought this was, I felt the ambushers was worst. Granted Dean was a little long in the tooth for this role but it wasn't as bad as say, Cannonball Run, where it was obvious he was only doing it for his own reasons. I always thought Dean after seeing this film felt he couldn't do the role anymore. i thought that was why he didn't do the ravagers which had been announced as the next Matt Helm movie. I only tonight discovered in an IMDb mini bio that he was so distraught after Sharon Tate's death he refused to do the role any longer. as a dean martin fan i enjoyed his film and singing career.

Count Massimo Contini (Nigel Green) is the mastermind behind a billion dollar gold robbery. His plan is to send the world markets into chaos. He may get away with it unless Matt Helm (Dean Martin) can track down the missing gold. But along the way, Helm will meet up the Count's hired muscle, a gorgeous female killer, and a ditsy woman who insists on helping him. I suppose the best way to describe a Matt Helm film would be a light and breezy spoof of the James Bond movies. Nothing is very serious and you're sure that everything will work out in the end. Dean Martin plays Matt Helm about as laid back as could be imagined. Instead of a gun, you're more likely to see him with a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other, a beautiful woman to ogle, and a quick quip. His fights scenes may leave a lot to be desired, but there's no denying his "cool". The Wrecking Crew is actually one of the better Matt Helm films. The hiding place of the gold is ingenious, the spy gadgets are plentiful, and the women are everywhere. The cast is one of the better assembled for any of these films. Nigel Green and Elke Sommer make a wonderful pair as the distinguished master criminal and the sexy killer (roles very similar to the ones they played in 1966's Deadlier Than the Male). But Sharon Tate really shines as the ditsy Freya Carlson. It's incredibly sad to think that this would be Tate's last role before her brutal murder. She's a joy and a real pleasure to watch.

No movie clashes more than "The Wrecking Crew." We have an aging Dean Martin, a soon to be dead Sharon Tate, Chuck Norris, and Bruce Lee choreography. In short, in this film, the 50's the 60's and the 70's meet and they REALLY don't get along. There are tedious "erotic" scenes. There are tedious shoot-outs. Even the explosions are tedious. This film is so slow that you'll notice how bad the sets are. Even the opening song, as catchy as it is, is offensive. People often call "The Ambushers" the worst Matt Helm film, but that's something you can sit through without getting the runs. And Sharon Tate should have known better to be in this. You can see her struggling, her energy showing through despite the script, but being giving no more to say than, "Mr. Helm, help me!" The biggest problem is director Karlson who was responsible for the inept first Matt Helm film, "The Silencers". Skip this and see "Murderer's Row," the best in the series.

Too bad Dean Martin gave up on Matt Helm just as James Bond was in chaos in the wake of Sean Connery's departure... In 1969, the new Bond was an unknown and only had one true lady with "man appeal" on his side; Emma Peel herself, Miss Diana Rigg! Helm had all kinds of chicks, especially the sublime Miss Sharon Tate... On that advantage alone, Matt Helm could have overtaken James Bond's spot! Alas such a feat had to be accomplished by a total parody such as Powers many years later... Mind-boggling too when one considers the fact that Powers never had anyone even remotely close to the elegance of a Rigg or Tate next to his ridiculous frame...! Matt Helm though -just as James Coburn's Our Man Flint series- was a far more subtle parody of the Bond myth... Thus worthier of eclipsing it than the ridiculous farce that Austin Powers and his mojo are! History tells us though that both Helm and Flint failed... and Powers is the one to finally outsell at the box-office the once-invincible Bond...

The movie is fantastic in its execution, not its substance, but it was never intended to be serious. The movie has all the glamor, and opulence that only American movies seems to be able to deliver. The choice of color, the character, and of course the girls. Dean Martin's Matt Helm was a product of the swinging '60s, and it's a beautiful movie in its own way. I wish that the modern movies had more of this kind of opulence to its style. Why not live a little like the way these people did ? It's intentionally silly, but if you take away the silly it still has the glamor like nothing you see these days. The movie is worth seeing for this alone. Elke Sommer, and Sharon Tate were beautiful, and we don't see beauties like this anymore either.

Well, at least compared to the two Matt Helm flicks immediately preceding it. After a couple of pretty big missteps, the series returns to the fine form of the first film, The Silencers. This is in no doubt very much due to the return of that film's director, Phil Karlson of Walking Tall fame. While the budget was obviously reduced for this one, it may have helped the pacing, which is not bogged down by cumbersome set pieces and elaborate gadgets. From the time Helm first arrives at Contini's château, the movie races breezily along helped by well choreographed (by Bruce Lee!)fight scenes in place of the earlier movies' overblown hovercraft chases, runaway spaceships and the like. Additionally, this is the only one of the 4 Helm movies where the main villain's death doesn't seem anti-climatic. The soundtrack is great and absolutely helps to keep things moving along as well. This cast is most enjoyable, with Nigel Green stealing the show while stealing the gold. He delivers many of the best lines in the movie, nay the series. Nancy Kwan and Elke Sommer are excellent as a couple of deadly femme fatales and Tina Louise is rescued from Gilligan's island just in time to give Helm his first lead. Sharon Tate showed a proclivity for comedy that was so deft and popular with movie goers that she was supposed to reprise her role in the never to be made The Ravagers. Also notable was the film debut of a little known martial arts expert named Chuck Norris. Dino himself seems to be enjoying the proceedings this time around and is a little more energetic. MacDonald, Helm's boss, is now being played by John Larch and actually takes part in some of the action. In conclusion, this is one tight, exciting and truly funny (without being silly) little movie, at least by Dean Martin Matt Helm standards. It's too bad this was the last in line, because it could have served as the action comedy template going forward.

Director Phil Karlson returns to direct Dean Martin in the final theatrical Matt Helm film: The Wrecking Crew. Karlson directed the first film in the series: The Silencers. This film has the curvy, very sexy Sharon Tate as Dino's sidekick. Along the way, Dino has to locate a billion dollars in gold bullion stolen by mastermind Nigel Green. However, he must contend with a bevy of 60's beauties and several henchmen whose fighting is more inept than his. Elke Sommer is Hench-woman elegance, Nancy Kwan is exotic beauty, and Tina Louise is sultry seductiveness, as each takes turns getting in his way. The opening sequence, with Martin dozing amongst his young protégés, and his penchant for adding new words while singing old songs in order to explain plot points are both funny. Late 60's flavor permeates throughout the film, especially in the infectious soundtrack, and in the female outfits. However, Martin was a bit long in the tooth for this role, and he mostly sleepwalks through the film. As a result, the film is tedious at times, and some of the action scenes seem like repeats of previous scenes. The sound effects for the handkerchief grenades seem out of sync with the footage. The fight scenes are laughable and hopelessly phony at times, despite being choreographed by Bruce Lee. Chuck Norris makes his film debut in a bit part as a waiter in a night club. However, he is wasted. You won't see him, but his voice is unmistakable. Sharon Tate, in her second to last film role, steals this film, and she displays her comedic skills delightfully. She is the best reason to see this film, and was the inspiration for Heather Graham's character in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. At the time, Tate was considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, and guys watching this will not disagree. ** of 4 stars.