Formula pairing of director Umberto Lenzi with prolific star Tomas Milian is watchable enough entertainment but lacks the spark of excitement that made other Lenzi Italian crime films so memorable. Firstly don't come expecting any of the hard-knuckle violence which is found in spades in the likes of VIOLENT ROME and ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON because there's none of that here; no innocent people get gunned down and nobody is even tortured! At an opportune moment in which it appears that a crowd of rich snobs are going to get wasted with a machine-gun, our arch-villain instead begins a long-winded political rant instead of using violence to make his point. There are few scenes of action here and only one really good car chase right at the end of the movie.
Instead the plot is bizarre and episodic, seemingly unable to decide what to do with the central concept of star Tomas Milian playing both roles of an identical twin partnership. Things start off in typical revenge formula as Humpo (the hunchback Milian plays in an politically incorrect '70s Italy) is double-crossed by his criminal accomplices and left for dead, being forced to crawl in exhausting slow motion through a dirty sewer to safety. Just as it appears that Lenzi is going to stage his own MARATHON MAN moment as Milian goes wild with a drill in a dentists, the action abruptly cuts off and we're left with only the aftermath! The plot gets more and more bizarre as it goes along, as Humpo's brother, Pigsty (who is basically the same as the character Milian played in FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP) is captured by the police and eats cigarettes, throwing him into a fever. The police proceed to throw him into a mental asylum! Much screen time is taken up with Pigsty's escape from said asylum and then there are various scenes involving transvestites, Albanians, and the traditional shoot-out finale in an abandoned building. The ambiguous ending is hardly satisfying. Although the plot isn't much cop, Lenzi's direction is solid and fluid meaning you'll never have to look at your watch. The typically snazzy music also helps out a lot, easing more painful moments in the production.
The usually reliable Tomas Milian is sadly below par in this movie. His standard Pigsty character is fine enough, a crook with a heart of gold and quite a sympathetic character, but Humpo - who gets most of the limelight - is certainly not. An irritating and unappealing creature who has a chip on his shoulder as well as a hump on his back, Humpo is the ultimate unbelievable anti-hero character and sadly overplayed to excess by an unrestrained Milian, who almost makes things laughable. Thankfully the supporting cast are solid enough in their various parts, such as Pino Colizzi's tough cop (who follows in the hard man footsteps of Franco Nero and Maurizio Merli), Isa Danieli (a beautiful actress) as Humpo's long-suffering girlfriend and Sal Borgese as a shifty criminal. The trappings make this one fun but at heart it lacks both the drama and excitement that the genre classics are best known for.
Instead the plot is bizarre and episodic, seemingly unable to decide what to do with the central concept of star Tomas Milian playing both roles of an identical twin partnership. Things start off in typical revenge formula as Humpo (the hunchback Milian plays in an politically incorrect '70s Italy) is double-crossed by his criminal accomplices and left for dead, being forced to crawl in exhausting slow motion through a dirty sewer to safety. Just as it appears that Lenzi is going to stage his own MARATHON MAN moment as Milian goes wild with a drill in a dentists, the action abruptly cuts off and we're left with only the aftermath! The plot gets more and more bizarre as it goes along, as Humpo's brother, Pigsty (who is basically the same as the character Milian played in FREE HAND FOR A TOUGH COP) is captured by the police and eats cigarettes, throwing him into a fever. The police proceed to throw him into a mental asylum! Much screen time is taken up with Pigsty's escape from said asylum and then there are various scenes involving transvestites, Albanians, and the traditional shoot-out finale in an abandoned building. The ambiguous ending is hardly satisfying. Although the plot isn't much cop, Lenzi's direction is solid and fluid meaning you'll never have to look at your watch. The typically snazzy music also helps out a lot, easing more painful moments in the production.
The usually reliable Tomas Milian is sadly below par in this movie. His standard Pigsty character is fine enough, a crook with a heart of gold and quite a sympathetic character, but Humpo - who gets most of the limelight - is certainly not. An irritating and unappealing creature who has a chip on his shoulder as well as a hump on his back, Humpo is the ultimate unbelievable anti-hero character and sadly overplayed to excess by an unrestrained Milian, who almost makes things laughable. Thankfully the supporting cast are solid enough in their various parts, such as Pino Colizzi's tough cop (who follows in the hard man footsteps of Franco Nero and Maurizio Merli), Isa Danieli (a beautiful actress) as Humpo's long-suffering girlfriend and Sal Borgese as a shifty criminal. The trappings make this one fun but at heart it lacks both the drama and excitement that the genre classics are best known for.