Execution

"Execution" is a great looking movie. There is no denying that. The colors just pop out. Other than that, "Execution" is borderline camp. Half of the time I didn't even know what was going on. The hero is bland and the villain is ridiculous. I have to admit that I kept going back to finish "Execution" because I did want to know how it ended. When I did end, I didn't care.

Spaghetti Westerns rarely plumb the depths of lead characters, but they generally establish things like motivation, and provide enough insight into the principals to care what happens to whom. All of that is completely lacking here, resulting in a confusing series of encounters among cast members who never give us a reason to feel anything. The only defined personality is the rotund leader of the Mexican bandits who overuses the trope of laughing loudly and sadistically while doing his brutal, greed thing. Nothing worth seeing here, folks; just keep moving along to the next flick.

Altogether a mediocre offering, this dreary Spaghetti Western has a muddled if unusual storyline but little real feeling for the genre. John Richardson stars in a dual role as an outlaw who's been on the run for nearly 5 years - after which he can no longer be pursued by bounty hunters - and his look-alike younger brother. The latter's deliberately confusing introduction - a gunfight in a saloon in which both opponents are killed (they are traveling entertainers offering a novel form of spectacle) - comes off as unintentionally funny. Being mistaken for his grey-haired and bespectacled brother, he's tortured by a horde of Mexican bandits (who are after the gold hidden by the latter) by way of a studded ball-and-chain; in fact, an interesting aspect of the film is its inventive deployment of weaponry - others include a knife at the end of a billiard stick, and a number of guns and rifles strategically placed on the floor above the saloon - which the younger Richardson then uses to shoot the bad guys, through the cracks in the roof! When the two siblings finally meet, the kid persuades his elder brother to give himself up - leading to a rather weak ending in which he rages over the death of his performing partner (who he had to 'execute' himself for having turned traitor)!! At least, the music score is pleasant enough...

Action Western with lots of shots , gunplay , treason and realized in Spaghetti Western wake. Clips (Mimmo Palmara), a bounty killer, is after one John Coler (John Richardson) , who has fooled him , keeping all of a loot he should have shared with him . He finally catches his prey only to discover that the man is a Coler all right but not the expected one . He is actually the outlaw's upright younger brother Bill (John Richardson himself in a dual role), who works in a traveling circus along with a fatty colleague. And both of them set up a fake gunfight at a saloon in which both opponents are killed . They are two traveling entertainers offering a form of gun-play spectacle . Meanwhile , the bounty killer brother is mercilessly pursued by bounty hunters who are after the gold hidden by him . Being mistaken for his grey-haired and killer brother , the bandits to be able to find the stolen gold taking prisoner the good brother Bill , and the latter is submitted to cruel tortures until he get escaped .

This Spaghetti film packs action , shootouts , high body-count , go riding and high body-count . This so-so flick contains a story full of crosses as well as double-crosses , ups and downs pace , thrills and ordinary direction . Worthwhile seeing only for the strong and violent confrontation beetween the good and and bad brothers against the gang of vicious Mexican bandits . Weak acting by main starring John Richardson in a dual role , both as an outlaw who's been on the run, and his lookalike brother who's member of a circus troupe , being subsequently tortured by a horde of Mexican bandits . John Richardson's big success was Don Chaffey's One million years B. C. (1966) , produced by Hammer films , with Raquel Welch and in which he met his wife Martine Beswick . Later on , following the steps of some other actors , he went on to appear in various Italian movies , as he played 4 Spaghettis : Gringo, getta il fucile! , Johnny le bâtard, The Adventurer of Iguana, Execution (1968) and a number of films in regular Italain sub-gnrs as Euro-Spy , Gialli , Terror such as Torso (1972) , Frankenstein '80 , Umberto Lenzi's horror Eyeball (1975), Michele Soavi's La Chiesa (1989) , Mario Bava's mask of the devil and many others ; but his recent movies filmed in the 80s convinced him to quit acting completely and , nowadays , he is a noteworthy photographer . Here appears ordinary secondaries and familiar faces from Spaghetti Western , such as : Mimmo Palmara as Dick Palmer as a nasty bounty hunter, Franco Giornelli, Piero Vida ,Lucio De Santis , and Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia Giovanni Ivan Scratuglia.

It contains an attractive score with plenty of Spaghetti sounds by Coriolano Gori as Lallo Gori . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Aldo Scavarda , shot in Israel with a lot of mountainous landscapes that bear remarkable resemblance to Almeria, Spain. The motion picture was middlingly directed by Domenico Paolella, as it has some flaws, gaps and failures . He was a director and writer, known for filming all kind of genres such as Nunexploitation : ¨The nun and the devil¨, ¨Unholy Convent¨ , Peplum : ¨Maciste Nell'inferno Di Gengis Khan¨, ¨Il Gladiatore Che Sfidò L'Impero¨ , ¨Golia Conquista Di Bagdad¨ , ¨Ercole Contro Tiranni , ¨Maciste against Mongols¨, among others . Rating : 4/10 , very mediocre Macaroni Western.