That was an excellent one.

Just perfect...

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I enjoyed THE SEVEN-UPS, one of the lesser-known cop thrillers of the 1970s. It's not as good as the big classics of the genre, like THE FRENCH CONNECTION movies or SERPICO, but it is interesting and it has that suitably gritty and realistic look going on. It also has one of the best and most exciting car chases ever put on film, certainly a top ten chase scene, with an incredible bit where a car hides in front of a bus to spring a shotgun-blasting ambush on our hero. Roy Scheider is reliably good as the hero of the hour, a cop on the trail of a kidnapping gang, and the genuinely nasty Richard Lynch has a great role as the chief villain. The film has a low key look which enhances the realism and is generally fast-paced and literate, not needing to spoon feed every little thing to the viewer.

Everything about this movie is classic 70s. So let's look at the plot. In the New York Police Department, Buddy Manucci (Roy Schieder) is a tough as nails police officer who leads a group of other policemen who are known as the seven ups. The seven ups always carefully plan and execute their arrests undercover. But now they are up against a mob plot to kidnap other mobsters for money. And when Buddy's superiors think that he's behind it after one of pals Ansel (Ken Kercheval) is killed, Buddy and his team will stop at nothing to uncover the truth behind the kidnappings. Once again, classic 70s. The Seven Ups is a pretty good movie but I can't really recommend it higher then some other alternatives. It's good but compared to other action films made at the time like Dirty Harry it just doesn't hold up as well. Make no mistake however, The Seven Ups is still good, but I just get the feeling it could have been great. I still can recommend it so by all means this film won't disappoint if you're interested.

An elite squad of the NYPD goes after a scheme to ransom big time mobsters.An odd thing about this cop caper is that they're practically no women. If memory serves, there's only one young woman, a nurse, and she has one line! And that's pretty much the case even for the street scenes. So if you're a guy looking for eye-candy, this is not your dish. Still they're all kinds of compensations for guys who like their steak on the tough side. Scheider (Buddy) may be a low-key cop, but you never know what he'll do next, lawfully or otherwise. Definitely, you don't want him visiting you in the hospital. Then there's the slick-talking Vito (LoBianco) with the looks of a choir boy and the scruples of Satan. Just where he'll end up is anybody's guess. Of course, there's also the car chase centerpiece, hair-raisingly choreographed. Frankly, I'll not be driving for a while, especially in NYC.I had some trouble at the beginning sorting out the characters. The screenplay more or less let's you figure out who's who, and which side of the law they're on. And since the 7-Ups are in civilian garb, that can be tough if you're not paying good attention. No, Scheider's 7-Up is not particularly likable, but you've got to admire his determination, especially behind the steering wheel. And get a load of the movie locations. I don't think the New York Tourist Bureau will be hiring this crew anytime soon. That last shootout scene looks like it was filmed inside the seedy remnants of a sea-side trash dump. And has a car-wash ever looked so menacing. I bet business dropped off big time after this up-close and personal view of an urban inferno.Anyhow, it's a good tough cop flick, with an unvarnished view of the Big Apple and its police force. Just don't take a car trip there any time soon.

Of the three imaginary trinity by Philip D'Antoni, I would rate The Seven-Ups as the 2nd best. It does not reach the level of The French Connection, but I found it more interesting than Bullitt where silence and mute scenes were too prevailing. The car chase was impressive again - although it is difficult to believe that even then, in the 1970ies, one could drive recklessly in New York, causing incidents and accidents, for tens of minutes without seeing lots of policemen... The cast is also more even than in Bullitt, with more character actors such as Larry Haines or particularly Richard Lynch; Roy Schreider was high-level as usual. Inclusion of mobsters and white-collar fraudsters enables to alter the pace and enclose long yet interesting discourses about multiple issues. The very ending could be have more sophisticated, however.Nevertheless, a strong crime thriller, with events developing without constant shootings-explosions and "witty" cues.