Action immédiate

Let's get some of the issues out of the way first. The film really gets off on the wrong foot with a dizzying amount of globe-trotting with Fabio Testi the hero as well as many tangentially related characters wandering around Amsterdam, Hong Kong, New York, Rome, and Bangkok before the film seems to kinda "settle down" on its narrative, maybe 15 minutes in. Unless you're a huge fan of Goblin music, you'll likely have lost interest long before the story starts.

Once things get going, you'll find the the film is remarkably thinly plotted when compared to Castellari's other crimers like HIGH CRIME and THE BIG RACKET. It has a lot of action, violence, and ups the ante as far as stunt work for sure, but the emotional connection just isn't there. It's like a whole lot of frosting on a stale and flavorless cake.

That said, there are some things worth noting about this movie. It's very strange and unpredictable for the first hour before settling into an extended chase sequence. Also it's odd to see David Hemmings as the big international star but he aquits himself well in the chase scenes and even dubs himself for a change. There's no leading lady per-say, and the highest up woman in the credits Sherry Buchanan gets kinda brushed aside without any affect on the plot whatsoever. Her whole story of working as a prostitute to support her junky boyfriend felt like it would have had a lot more bearing on things, but neither of them do once they fulfill their purpose of getting Fabio to the chase scene.

It is rare though to find a Eurocrime movie that isn't an obvious clone of a more successful American one. It's a little bit more like a James Bond style adventure with Testi as an undercover cop with sort of a goofy denim costume, but he grows on you complete with Michael Forest's cocksure dubbing voice. Also, the Goblin music sort-of suits the film but gets a little distractingly over-the-top in a way that worked a lot better for DAWN OF THE DEAD or SUSPIRIA than this sort of film.