Maybe I ought to start with some slightly boring but nevertheless relevant background information. From the late sixties until the mid-seventies, the Poliziotesschi was an extremely popular sub-genre of Italian exploitation cinema. These were crime thrillers revolving around relentless criminals and the unorthodox cops chasing after them, with trademarks that included extreme violence, brutal executions, and wild car chases often filmed guerilla-style in the centers of big Italian cities. They were awesome! They also brought forward many cult icons; directors (Umberto Lenzi, Stelvio Massi, Fernando Di Leo) as well as actors (Maurizio Merli, Luc Merenda, Antonio Sabato). For some reason, though, and as similar to Gialli, their popularity immensely decreased after 1975.
Around this time, however, writer/director Bruno Corbucci (brother of Sergio, and co-writer of "Django" and "The Great Silence") discovered a new market. His film "Cop in Blue Jeans" was very popular, and the principal difference between this and previous Poliziotesschi was that the raw and explicit violence got replaced with dumb, vulgar, and borderline slapstick humor. The public loved it, apparently, and thus there were less and less violent crime thrillers, but an overload of action-comedies until the mid-1980s. "Cop in Blue Jeans" received 10 (!) sequels, all starring Tomas Milian, and also other combos of action & slapstick were tremendously successful, like the pairings of Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.
As a diehard fanatic of the raw, gritty, and uncompromisingly violent Poliziotesschi of the early 70s, I always deliberately avoided the Squadra/Delitto franchise, simply because I like my Italian cult cinema blood-soaked, but now I will start reviewing them. Why? Because many of the 10 titles are available on Netflix, for starters, and quite frankly also because I have already seen most of the traditional Poliziotesschi. Besides, it's still Italian, still 70s, and still Tomas Milian. How disappointing can it be?
"Squadra Antifurto" is not disappointing at all, although I obviously missed the brutality and had to accept that almost the entire first half is a substantially void and stuffed with the childish jokes about pee and poo. In Rome (or perhaps it's another major city), there's a wave of car-jackings and breaking & entering in the homes of wealthy people. The eccentric and foul-mouthed cop Nico Giraldi from anti-theft squad knows the thieves and isn't too concerned. In fact, he rather enjoys playing cat-and mouse with them. But then the thieves break into a mansion of a mysterious American and steal a notebook they probably shouldn't have. As they are getting murdered one by one, Giraldi has a slightly more challenging investigation to lead.
As to be expected, once characters are starting to get killed, the movie becomes worthwhile. There are a few tense and action-packed scenes, including a chase on a train and a shootout at an old factory. The kills are not bloody, though, and the stunts are still meant to be comical, with Tomas Millian riding with his motorcycle over cars, boats, and into people's living rooms. I assumed the climax in New York was going to be spectacular, but it mainly exists of a bizarre love-montage. Tomas Milian obviously enjoys himself as the bewildered Giraldi, modeled after Al Pacino in "Serpico", who continuously insults and humiliates the people around him. The supportive cast is sadly underused, most notably Robert Webber as the villain and the incredibly beautiful Lilly Carati as car-jacking victim/love interest. She keeps her clothes on in this film, but should you want to admire her natural beauty, I warmly recommend "The Alcove" and "To Be Twenty".
