Altrimenti ci arrabbiamo

As in Lightning whatever his name was in Cars - this is about ... Dune Buggy ... no pun intended. And you may have heard the song - you will have seen the original movie for sure then. If you haven't ... maybe you won't be too disappointed ... but you should watch the original if you haven't.

The new actors in this - well those replacing Bud Spencer and Terence Hill (sorry if you know their real names, that's how I grew up with them) ... I feel sorry for them in a sense. It is not an easy task to fill those shoes (and fists - in fights that is)! And that was quite an understatement - I can't imagine anyone having seen the original movie and being a fan of the duo, remotely thinking that those two come close to the OG duo ... no pun intended.

That said, if you are interested, there are some positives I reckon. The race (early on) is quite well shot. Obviously with better cameras/equipment it also was easier to do nowadays, right? You also have an interesting and rather well shot "fight" highlight towards the end. Not sure about the drawn "pictures" in between ... and they also use the original song Dune Buggy - though not as much and often as the original did. Now that may be a good or bad thing - I won't judge either way (love the song of course).

Ending is quite nice and I reckon in tune with the original movies tone ... but apart from being predictable ... it's not like you will jump and cheer from your chair when you see it ... again .. a very tough movie and maybe one that should not have been done in the first place. Or maybe only when the right actors are around. No offense to the two used - pretty sure they are nice people and good actors in their own right. But I've only seen one person I could see "replace" Bud Spencer for example ... his name (international again) is: Don Lee! Watch his Round Up trilogy to get some of that feeling back .. and I've heard there will be at least a fourth one ... can't wait!

Please remove this movie from the digital archives all over the world, delete any downloaded streaming files from your cache and any copy on hard-disks, forget the actors, trash it to the end, skip the trailer or even any frame on google images... and save and keep with heart the good memory of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, love you guys you are still alive and acting together in our minds.

... you almost always get it wrong. However the result here is watchable. Especially if you consider it maybe not so much as a sequel but as an homage to the original movie. It's true it is really difficult to live up to the Spencer/Hill duo, but the leads here do their job with charm and De Sica as Torsilllo is hilarious as always.

In a way the secret to enjoy this is to be totally prejudiced (as I was) and make an effort to watch it anyway... In that case you will almost be pleasantly surprised.

Whatever you may think, you must admire the courage of the Younuts directors in making this: these endeavours are almost always movie suicide. However, for me, not this time.

Remove this film from the cinemas, it is a disgrace to the memory of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Please don't go to the cinema to see this movie, you must not support such rubbish, it is a great disrespect to these two great men, the actors of my childhood, they raised me.

The original Watch Out We're Mad was my entry point to the funny but entertaining world of Messrs Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Subsequent movies comprising the two (or any one of them) became a staple of my growing up years, forming part of the family TV time.

What made the earlier movies work was the fact that Hill and Spencer had equal amount of screen chemistry and charm. This was compounded by their contradicting looks and demeanour, but it also contributed to their onscreen success. Hill with his dashing, handsome-blue-eyed-but-never-naive look, while Spencer's oversized gruff, leave-me-alone counterpart played the foil. Their characters often got together due to circumstances which pulls them into action, usually initiated by half-witted baddies who make the mistake of getting in the way of - and underestimating - our lovable heroes, and end up on the receiving end of some punishing and ridiculous slam-bam, which then provide most of the laughs.

This remake has none of the chemistry between the leads nor the laughs needed to simply sit and laugh our hearts out. The plot is more or less a carbon copy of the original, and both Edoardo Pesce and Alessandro Roja attempt to turn on the individual charms of Spencer and Hill respectively, only to fall flat. Peace could not replicate Spencer's trademark aloofness and Roja of Hill's romantic charm. After awhile it becomes tedious to try and sit through, knowing well that it's gonna be near impossible for the leads to replicate memories that evoke - or even better - of that of Hill & Spencer. Gave up without finishing the movie.

This is where Italian movies could learn from their Hollywood counterpart:- Never try to replicate the genius found in the original; 'tis better to work your way by creating your own charm, even if you do borrow the plot.