Engel des Bösen - Die Geschichte eines Staatsfeindes

This film, mostly told in flashback, tells the story of Milanese gangster Renato Vallanzasca. In the 1970s he and his gang are responsible for a number of robberies and several murders, not to mention his escapes from custody. He is not a Mafioso, the gang is made up of family and childhood friends. At first they avoid violence but once a police officer is killed by an associate and they find themselves considered 'most wanted' by the police tensions and paranoia increase as does the body count.

The DVD box proclaims that this is 'The Italian Mesrine', which immediately sets the bar high. There are obvious similarities; both tell the stories of European gangsters in the '70s and both feature numerous crimes and include jail breaks; so if you like Mesrine I'd certainly recommend this even if I'd say 'Mesrine' is the better of the two... of course that may just be because I watched it first. The story is gritty and effectively told. The acting is solid; especially from Kim Rossi Stuart, who is rarely off screen and really impresses as Renato. I thought the film looked good with an impressive '70s feel. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of gritty Euro-crime dramas.

These comments are based on watching the film in Italian with English subtitles.