Enzo G. Castellari delivers another efficient polizia flick but unfortunately one that is not up there with the best of his output. THE BIG RACKET is another typical contender for the popular crime thriller genre in '70s Italy, complete with heroic cops, sadistic villains and lots of corporate corruption upsetting our detective's investigation. The story is particularly strong here as the film tells of a series of businessmen falling foul of the villains before teaming up to as a vigilante group going out to get the bad guys – definitely a novel twist for the genre. Castellari's strength is, as usual, in the action, and the stand-out here is a shootout at a rail yard, complete with machine-gunnings and all of the tense heroics and violence you could wish for. Sadly his famed use of slow-motion is in short supply but the film is nevertheless powerful and impactful in places. The warehouse shoot-out is also a good one, sustaining interest despite being lengthy.
The cast contains the usual big boys of the genre: Sal Borgese, Renzo Palmer, Vincent Gardenia and Orso Maria Guerrini are all here as dodgy roguish types, led by the dashing Fabio Testi as the chief cop (Testi always underplays his roles, the extreme opposite of the overacting madman Maurizio Merli). The film is pretty shocking and has only just been released uncut in Britain, as the bad guys have a tendency to rape young, innocent women and then set them on fire afterwards. Castellari's direction is strong but the script is workmanlike throughout and there are no big surprises or sequences which really lift it above the norm for the genre. Good, solid, sometimes sleazy fun from Italy.
The cast contains the usual big boys of the genre: Sal Borgese, Renzo Palmer, Vincent Gardenia and Orso Maria Guerrini are all here as dodgy roguish types, led by the dashing Fabio Testi as the chief cop (Testi always underplays his roles, the extreme opposite of the overacting madman Maurizio Merli). The film is pretty shocking and has only just been released uncut in Britain, as the bad guys have a tendency to rape young, innocent women and then set them on fire afterwards. Castellari's direction is strong but the script is workmanlike throughout and there are no big surprises or sequences which really lift it above the norm for the genre. Good, solid, sometimes sleazy fun from Italy.