Amazon.com Customer Reviews
 Rated 2 out of 5
For Blaxploitation fans only
If you liked the trashy Blaxploitation films of the 70s, you’’ll love this. If you’’re like me and hate this junk-filled genre, it ain’’t for you.Bad acting (especially Shelly Winters and the ubiquitous Antonio Fargas), overdone story (main character getting revenge for framing by the (of course) racist crooked cops), ad nauseum. Good for laughs, but not much else. However, there are some redeeming features that raise this from one starts to two for me. Bernie Casey comes off as a very sincere and redeeming character who tries to rid th eneighborhood of drug abuse. Cleo Jones herself shows that women can be smart as well as sexy (though she’’s not quite as charasmatic as Pam Grier’’s characters and Pam’’s a better actress). But in either case, this is one of those films best watched with a bunch of your friends over and a cooler filled with beers nearby.  Rated 5 out of 5!
Campy ’’70s Fun!
I have always really liked this movie since it came out in 1973. I have watched it countless times through the years on TV, but haven’’t seen it for a while on TV so I picked it up on DVD. Although the DVD doesn’’t offer a lot of features, the picture quality is good and it’’s presented in it’’s original cinemascope format. This was one of the higher budget "blaxploitation" flicks from the ’’70s. Seeing it as a kid I thought it was the coolest movie. Now that I am a lot older, it’’s still cool, but in a campy/fun way. The plot consists of a government agent named Cleopatra Jones (Tamara Dobson)who is hired to rid the US of drugs. She goes after one of the "Queenpins" of the drug trade called Mommy, played by Shelley Winters. The one thing I never forgot about this movie was Cleopatra’’s kickin’’ Corvette complete with a cassette deck, which was really high-end at the time! (Most cars had 8-track players) Along with this was her funky fashions! If you like the ’’70s action genre, this is a great addition to your library. Rated 3 out of 5
Major Company’’s Answer to Blaxploitation Vogue
As a good example to see how a major studio handles topics in vogue, "Cleopatra Jones" is worth watching. I mean, there is nothing new in this film except the fact that more money is invested than in "Coffy" or "Foxy Brown," small, independent company’’s works. The formula is basically the same as those of so-called blaxploitaion films, but the shoot-out, car chase, or explosion scenes are all updated.This movie is about Cleopatra Jones, or "Cleo," sexy, cool, no-nonsense secret agent for government, who fights against drug syndicate. And she uses karate (a bit). Well, the rest is as you guess. Tamara Dobson is remembered as Cleo, and rightly so. Her tall, slender body fits exactly Cleopatra’’s character, and she is pretty impressive, and her acting is not bad. However, much, much more impressive is Shelley Winters (Oscar winner!!), who plays "Mommy," ruthless mastermind behind drug business. Her hammy performance -- wearing a black leather jacket, yelling "I will kill HERRR!!! -- is something you see in your nightmare. She overacts so much that if Golden Raspberry Awards had been there back in the 70s, she surely would have win the prize of the decade. The final scene, in which Cleo fights Mammy (yes, they fight!!) in a junkyard, will become ... well ... a bizzare memory for you.
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