The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist

When a dangerous gangster (Tomas Milian, ludicrously named "The Chinaman") escapes prison and instigates a crime war, an ex-cop with a personal vendetta fakes his own death so he can secretly hunt him down. Hard nosed 70s Italian crime/action flick with a brawl, chase or shootut every 5 minutes or so. Maurizio Merli is a poor man's Franco Nero but he comes across as a believable tough guy...Milian is deliciously slimy and there's some great photography all around Rome.

An enjoyably violent cheapie driven along by decent performances from Milian, Saxon and Merli. Hell knows what was going on with Saxon's hair in this. The titular Fist (Merli) spends a lot of time beating the hell out of people, as he should, and this makes for good entertainment. Milian's Cynic (going full Method) and Saxon's Rat have more room to flex their acting chops, and acquit themselves well. It perhaps needed a bit more money and editorial focus, but this is another good Eurocrime jape.

This movie was a shit ton of fun. Maurizio Merli, Tomas Milian, and John Saxon were all great and seemed to be having a lot of fun. The plot is thin but the action is frequent and violent and as an added bonus the score by Franco Micalizzi was perfect for the film and lent an air of menace and whimsy and seemed to be inspired by Ennio Morricone. I mostly know Umberto Lenzi from horror films but I seem to like his Poliziotteschi films better.

Amo Milian e Saxon e aqui eles estão ótimos como usual, mas não vou com a cara do Merli justamente por representar esses policiais escrotos pelos quais tenho ojeriza. Box Versátil Euro Crime: Poliziotteschi