This was not a box office hit when it was first released; most critics hated it.  Time has not tempered its many flaws.  The humor is broad and at times overbearing, abrasive.  The lead character is a nitwit, obnoxiously stupid.  Oddly enough, this is the only character played for laughs, the rest are deadly serious in their intent (none more so than Oliver Reed as the villain, one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dreary enterprise).  The effect is quite jarring, as though they forgot to inform Michael Crawford that they had changed their minds, the piece was now a gritty spy thriller.  Unfortunately, it's never as funny as it should have been, and not serious enough to work on any other level.