The Formula (1980)
Directed by John G. Avildsen

Film Review

The Formula is one of those films which, had it been directed and scripted with a little more discipline, could have been something quite remarkable.  It certainly has some promising plot points and its central concept, the threat posed by unchecked corporate power, is highly relevant.  Unfortunately, Steve Shagan was totally the wrong person to adapt his novel (he obviously wants to cram in every last dot and comma) and John G. Avildsen gives a good impression of a director who couldn't care less about what he is supposed to be directing.  A hideously labyrinthine plot is made completely unintelligible through a combination of poor screenwriting and lazy direction, and it doesn't help that one prominent member of the cast (a horribly overweight Marlon Brando) clearly doesn't give a damn whether we can make sense of anything he says.  George C. Scott and Marthe Keller are the only bright lights in this otherwise dismal offering - Scott brings some degree of focus to the muddled narrative with his solid tough cop portrayal, whilst Keller is as compelling as ever as the mysterious femme fatale who is far more than she appears.  Alas, not even the combined efforts of Scott and Keller can save this one and a promising scenario is carelessly thrown away.  Brando should have been fired on Day One.

Film Synopsis

When Thomas Neely, a former police officer, is found dead at his Los Angeles home, his old friend Lieutenant Barney Caine is assigned to investigate his murder.  Caine discovers that, in the dying days of WWII, Neely had contact with a German general who was tasked with exchanging Nazi secrets in return for an amnesty.  These secrets apparently included a valuable formula for creating a synthetic alternative to crude oil from coal.  Caine heads off to Germany to seek out answers from those who were involved in the synthetic fuel project.  Unfortunately, everyone Caine contacts meets a violent death after speaking to him.  Someone clearly has a vestige interest in ensuring the Formula remains forgotten...