Although not quite as good as its successors The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Revenge Of The Pink Panther, this is still fantastic slapstick comedy. By this, the third film in the franchise, director Blake Edwards knew exactly what his audience wanted, a roller-coaster of anarchy revolving around Peter Sellers and he delivers it in spades.
Consider for example Clouseau's initial brawl with Kato ("He used to do a bit of cooking but now he's taken to attacking me at any opportunity") or his bumbling attempts to investigate Lady Litton's hotel room, or the madcap closing battle in a Japanese restaurant, every moment Sellers is on screen is a joy to behold. His good natured but ludicrously stupid antics are classic slapstick at its very best and thankfully, unlike the original in the series, most of the film centres on him.
In fact the only factor preventing this movie from being the non-stop tour de force of riotous laughs its successors were, is the re-appearance of Charles Litton and the introduction of his wife, Lady Litton. Now played by Christopher Plummer, Litton is supposed to be considered dashing, debonair and sophisticated in his role, but unfortunately he and his wife instead come across as a pair of insufferably smug gits afflicted with severe superiority disorders. Thankfully, they are afforded nowhere near as much screen time as Clouseau is, but it wasn't until the following film where Litton was written out entirely that it became perfect.
Nevertheless, this is still a hysterically funny film, though I'd recommend checking out both of its successors before watching this one.
Consider for example Clouseau's initial brawl with Kato ("He used to do a bit of cooking but now he's taken to attacking me at any opportunity") or his bumbling attempts to investigate Lady Litton's hotel room, or the madcap closing battle in a Japanese restaurant, every moment Sellers is on screen is a joy to behold. His good natured but ludicrously stupid antics are classic slapstick at its very best and thankfully, unlike the original in the series, most of the film centres on him.
In fact the only factor preventing this movie from being the non-stop tour de force of riotous laughs its successors were, is the re-appearance of Charles Litton and the introduction of his wife, Lady Litton. Now played by Christopher Plummer, Litton is supposed to be considered dashing, debonair and sophisticated in his role, but unfortunately he and his wife instead come across as a pair of insufferably smug gits afflicted with severe superiority disorders. Thankfully, they are afforded nowhere near as much screen time as Clouseau is, but it wasn't until the following film where Litton was written out entirely that it became perfect.
Nevertheless, this is still a hysterically funny film, though I'd recommend checking out both of its successors before watching this one.