Meu Nome é Vingança

This is a decent foreign thriller about a defected Mafia hitman who resurfaces due to a happenstance of his attempt to lead an anonymous new life. When the Mob discovers he is alive they come after him, and his family, seeking to kill them. Of course it is not that simple. He is not an easy man to kill. Accompanied by his surviving daughter he seeks to finish what he started years earlier. There is a slight similarity in this film, to The Professional, with Jean Renault and Natalie Portman; however, this one is not as good. There is decent action. The cast is decent enough and the cinematography is good. Decent enough, but not the best.

This movie borders on the edge of fantasy. The story is based around settling of vendettas using surveillance techniques that are so far-fetched. The characters are not that interesting, and the daughter borders on being the most annoying movie character ever devised. Everything she is told not to do, she does, and it doesn't help that she is dressed to look like some character from a bygone era. She faces no consequences for her dumb actions, and puts the blame for the action that is the basis of the story, on her father, never mind that she is the person who puts his picture on the internet after she is warned not to do so. The story is weak and borders on fantasy. In short, it's just a silly movie!

Violent, brutal, bloody, not for the squeamish this Italian crime film where a former Ndrangheta goon is searched by his family for whom blood lines are more important than anything else. A revenge topic, already seen ten millions times before but that will please action movies goers. Not for intellectuals either, not a complicated story, with pretty good moments, and a very good directing, camera work, overall atmosphere. Clichés galore, if you seek surprises, watch something else. But it's better that this kind of topic is told by Italian than by Americans, the end would not have been the same at all from Hollywood. Good stuff.

Although this is not a great film, it's nonetheless, watchable. It's fast-paced with a few heartfelt dramatic moments. The truth is, the plot is straightforward so the viewer should not expect any surprises except perhaps the ending.

There have been revenge films made before. But what could set this apart is that it's a father-and-teenaged daughter affair. It starts in a idyllic setting somewhere in Bolzano (mention is made of Merano which is near the German border). The viewer should find the scenes here quite picturesque. Then, it shifts to an urban setting.

The fight scenes are realistic if not gory; nothing is exaggerated. Santo/Domenico is a mean killing machine who believes that the law is kill or be killed. The action sequences are well-executed.

Alessandro Gassman and Ginebra Francesconi are a good pair. They portray convincingly their roles as doting father and loving daughter, whose teenaged life is abbreviated by ugly circumstances. Gassman fits the role of a punisher. In fact, the vibes of the film is reminiscent of Jon Bernthal's "The Punisher."

If you have time to spare, watch this one.

The creators of this film took every cliche' of the "revenge" genre, mixed everything in a blender and pieced them together at random.

The daughter was made to look and act like Natalie Portman in "Leon", minus the acting skills.

Completely unoriginal and uninspiring dialogs, one dimensional characters, ultra predictable storyline.

It's a pity, because Alessandro Gassmann is a great actor with a lifelong acting experience, but in this film he could have been replaced by any mediocre actor and the result would have been the same.

The only positive I could find, was the stunning shooting location in the mountains of SouthTyrol, the German speaking province in the north of Italy.