What do most of the really cool Poliziotesschi movies from the 70's have in common? That's right, they practically all star Maurizio "Moustache" Merli as the obsessive and unorthodox copper relentlessly pursuing and killing off bad guys! In "Milano Violenta", you see what happens in case Merli was unavailable or didn't get cast. The replacement police officers are so anti-charismatic and boringly working by the book that the gangsters begin hunting down each other instead! Of course, this is an exaggeration, and I massively enjoyed Mario Caiano's "Milano Violenta", but the film truthfully lacks a powerful authority figure in addition to the fierce cat-and-mouse games between the criminals mutually.
You certainly cannot claim that "Milano Violenta" starts off too slow. During the textbook Poliziotesschi opening credits, four vicious types speechlessly step into a car, clearly prepared for the well-planned heist of a company that is about to pay their employees' bonuses in cash money rather than the usual bank cheques. Things go seriously wrong, with two of the robbers driving off with the loot before the police arrives. The remaining two kill someone, take a few hostages and manage to run off separately although the entire building is surrounded with cops. We missed you already here at this point, Maurizio! The getaway of one gangster (John Steiner is an awesome guest appearance) ends face-first against a truck, while the other - Raul - furiously goes after his two treacherous companions. "Milano Violenta" is straightforward and unpretentious exploitation entertainment, with a nasty villains, exhilarating music, raw atmosphere and nihilistic violence. The explicit highlights include John Steiner's grisly fate and a brutal execution at a car junkyard. The unearthly beautiful Silvia Dionisio provides the film with mandatory nudity as the docile prostitute/gangster's love-interest (as you probably know, Poliziotesschi movies are not exactly famous for their depiction of strong women). Claudio Cassinelli is very good as the intimidating and ruthless gangster, carrying the entire film seemingly without effort. Cassinelli died 10 years later, in a helicopter crash on the set of Sergio Martino's "Fists of Steel". What a great loss for the Italian cult film industry!
