A Major Disappointment

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I actually found this movie to be quite boring. It didn't really keep my attention. I mean, the acting wasn't bad. I guess the main thing was I didn't really care about any or the characters. None of them! And the story itself didn't engage me. My attention kept wandering. And I like mystery/action movies generally. It had its moments I guess. But overall it's one of those movies I'd have on in the background while I'm cleaning or something just to have some noise.

DEATH RAGE is one of the probably hundreds of Italian polizia flicks made in the 1970s. These tough crime thrillers could typically be characterised by gangsters, violence, shoot-outs, car chases, and no-nonsense cops investigating the cases and I have to admit that they're among my favourite kind of films. This one is slightly different in that it's more American-focused than usual, in an attempt to pass itself off as a US-made movie. It doesn't work, but the film provides passable entertainment for those who like these kinds of movies. Imagine a '70s version of LEON and you'll be halfway there.The best thing about the movie is undoubtedly the main star. Yul Brynner has always been a favourite of mine and he trades on his Hollywood hard man image here as the icy assassin. Although he's clearly middle-aged by now, he more than looks the part in his dashing black suit and he acts everyone else off the screen effortlessly. Another big bonus is who he's cast against; Martin Balsam was an old hand in these types of films and once again he's typecast here as the commissioner. So what? Balsam's always excellent and he provides good value for money yet again.The revenge-style plot is nothing new and there isn't much in the way of twists to make it stand out. In fact, it's not particularly memorable, detailing Brynner's vendetta against a gangster gang, revealing how he works his way up from the small-fry thugs to the head honcho. Some interest is added from the inclusion of a young 'apprentice' killer, played by Massimo Ranieri. At first I didn't like this guy; there was no real reason why he was always hanging around Brynner's character (apart from hero worship). Yet by the closing scenes, in which Brynner sets him up to take over his line of business, I was more engaged and there's a nice twist ending involving his character.Director Antonio Margheriti is one of my favourite Italian auteurs, simply because he's so enthusiastic about whatever he does. He was there from the early '60s pepla through the spaghetti westerns, crime flicks, science fiction and fantasy. He can always be relied upon to make a decently-shot movie and this one's no exception. The pacing is spot on and there's the requisite number of car chases and shoot-outs just waiting to be enjoyed. The director was fond of fantastic elements in his movies and there's a little gimmick here of an animated blood pool popping up as Brynner relives a traumatic event from his past. It doesn't really make sense or fit in but it explains the title, I guess. The only other thing worth mentioning is an extraneous turn from Barbara Bouchet, who provides window dressing and nothing else. Bouchet is happy to strip for the role (literally) but she couldn't be more wooden. She's not the reason to tune in: Brynner's well-groomed, good-and-evil hit-man is. He keeps you watching.

I can only imagine that Death Rage was meant as some sort of cash in on the success of Yul Brynner's earlier movies because as a film in its own right, it really is severely lacking. This is actually quite a surprise too as it's directed by Antonio Margheriti who, while certainly in the 'B' category of Italian directors active in the seventies, still made some very good films with the likes of Schoolgirl Killer and Danse Macabre. This, however, is not one of his finer hours. The plot is just your average everyday story of a hit-man looking for revenge on someone that he is close to; in this case, it's the death of his brother and on the way to his revenge he falls in love with a stripper played by Barbara Bouchet. Yul Brynner often gets the "hard man" act spot on; but personally I find him to be uncharismatic and I can't really say I'm a fan. The main reason I saw this film is because of the inclusion of the beautiful Barbara Bouchet; but unfortunately for me (and the rest of the red blooded male audience) she is sadly underused. There's a fair bit of action in the film, but to be honest I couldn't really care about it as the plot line is so boring. The film hasn't exactly won itself a good reputation in the thirty years since it was made and I'm not surprised about that. I can't really say there's any good reason to see this film.

In "Death Rage," Peter Marciani is out to get the man who put a hit out on his brother. It's not the most original story by any means and there's no doubt it's been done other places better. Throw in a couple other very familiar plot plot elements and it brings even less to the table.Maybe that's a little unfair, though. Despite all the clichés, the movie still isn't bad. It's everything you come to expect, but that doesn't made it can't provide some cheap fun. There's gunfights, car chases, and some funny lines.Overall, it's fairly harmless. There's worse ways to spend 90 minutes, but there are also better ones. Since it's easily available (and probably for free online), it's not a bad idea to check it out and get some cheap thrills.