C.I.A. Codename: Alexa (1992)

C.I.A. Codename: Alexa: Directed by Joseph Merhi. With Kathleen Kinmont, Lorenzo Lamas, O.J. Simpson, Alex Cord. A terrorist couple is pitted against each other when the female counterpart is captured by C.I.A. agents. They convince her to help them bring down the dangerous group in this violent actioner.

“PLOT OUTLINE: A gang of thieves break into a government building u0026amp; steal a valuable computer chip. The group is killed, but not before the leader swallows the chip. His body is stolen by a group of terrorists working for arms dealer Victor Mahler. One of the terrorists, a woman named Alexa, is captured by the CIA. Mark Graver, a CIA agent, decides to try u0026amp; turn Alexa against her boss.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis low budget actioner was one of the first films made by PM Entertainment, one of the major players in the DTV action genre during the 1990s. The film became a cult hit on cable television due to the fact that one of its stars, O. J. Simpson, was put on trial for the murder of his wife u0026amp; her lover. This success turned PM into a successful B-film studio, enabling them to make dozens of similar films during the decade.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe trial has given the film a reputation it does not deserve. In fact, C. I. A. – Codename: Alexa is something of a poster boy for those who decry action films as being nothing but violent garbage. The filmu0026#39;s script is poorly written; the action scenes consist of people standing out in the open firing at each other; the dialogue is cheesy u0026amp; stupid u0026amp; the plot, despite given a title like u0026quot;C. I. A.u0026quot;, fails to feature the agency prominently.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThat said, the film does prove to be something of a guilty pleasure. The action scenes, despite having the characters standing out in the open while shooting their weapons, do have an undeniable energy (the cinematographer for the film, PM honcho Richard Pepin, would later go on to direct a number of sci-fi / action hybrids).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe stars are a mixed bunch. Kathleen Kinmont u0026amp; Lorenzo Lamas make a good pairing (they would later marry), Pamela Dixon gives the impression that she hates the film, judging by the contempt she gives it, while O. J. Simpson gives the usual idiotic surliness that he gave his other film roles.”