Shoot First, Die Later

(1976) Il Poliziotto è marcio/ Shoot First, Die Later (In Italian with English subtitles) CRIME DRAMA/ ACTION

Interesting familiar premise but with expected results starring Luc Merenda as Domenico Malacarne a young corrupt police lieutenant who always had no problems working with a particular don for illegal booze and cigarettes, until some elder bystander files a complaint regarding being blocked from the inside from getting out. For cautionary reasons the mob is pressing Domenco to go to the police station where the file is located and then retrieve it for the mob so that he can have it destroyed since it contains the license plate number that can connect a particular person with a current murder that happened nearby. Written and directed by Fernando Di Leo has some interesting things to say regarding the problems that can exist regarding corruption that involves the law of authority, which can be used as a scare tactic not to do business with the mob under any circumstances, that I have no doubt in my mind some of it is based on fact. I just wished there was a better result I guess would've made the film unrealistic.

Though generally a tad overrated (neither Milano Calibro 9 nor Il Boss are the transgressive "masterpieces" some Italocinema fetishists want them to be), so-called "cult" director Fernando di Leo manages to strike some grippingly dissonant chords in Shoot First, Die Later, the original title being less sensationalistic than bone dry: The Rotten Cop. While most poliziotteschi are essentially feelgood movies, the degenerates and lowlifes getting what they justly deserve, this one marches to an entirely different drum. At its core a father-son story – the excellent Salvo Randone playing Pops to the opposite of leading beau Luc Merenda –, it's a cynical morality play about a model cop appropriately named Malacarne (literally meaning "bad meat") who feels perfectly comfortable with being on the payroll of the mafia until things go terribly awry: Unlike the cheap-thrills roller coaster violence of other Eurocrime movies, the stark brutality here comes across as callous, pitiless, not even nasty, but unpleasant through and through; actually, the two car chases, skillfully done by stunt coordinator Rémy Julienne, feel like a concession to the regular poliziotto crowd. In its acidly sarcastic Weltanschauung and the complete lack of redeeming qualities, Shoot First, Die Later is doubtless more akin to the cinema of Rosi, Damiani or Elio Petri than to the staccato over-the-top action of Castellari or Lenzi: A doom loop of human failings.

This film is ultimately very downbeat. It seems to be a sort of slow motion lesson on how crime does not pay , more specifically how if you dabble in or turn a blind eye to crime , you and a lot of other people can get hurt. And it delivers that message without pulling any punches. Some of the scenes of violence are hard to watch because of how cruel and ruthless they are.

The movie starts with a bang with a spectacular , nerve wracking car chase. After that it's mostly pretty slow , although the story does keep getting propelled forward and there is some action and also humor peppered here and there. In the last third things start picking up a lot more with yet another car chase and a whole slew of plot twists. The ending is a huge , ironic surprise. Overall, a very entertaining and satisfying movie, much better than I had anticipated.

Fernando di Leo does a sound job of cranking out a film that keeps you riveted to your seat, even if you (well, I) could not quite see Domenico's (played by Luc Merenda) motivation for accepting bribes from the underworld while serving as a policeman and with his father a well known and respected senior officer in the force.

Whatever the unexplained reasons, Domenico sees no reason not to profit from his personal power as officer of the law, and he has a quick trigger index finger that dispatches lives as fast as he drives recklessly through the streets of the crime-ridden city in which he tangoes with criminal figures, notably the venerable Richard Conte, who already showed all the signs of a penchant for crime back in his heyday as Hollywood star, culminating in Barzini, the top baddie in THE GODFATHER.

If you like action Italian/polizioteschi style of the 1970s, IL POLIZIOTTTO É MARCIO is a must-see. Typical cinematography of the time, undemanding editing and script. If you like something convincing in terms of character actions, you may feel a little bit let down. 7/10.

This one stars Luc Merenda as a hard-nosed cop famed for taking down the bad guys in Milan, as we see during a pretty good shoot-out/car chase at the beginning of the film. Luc's also got a good thing going with his girlfriend, but we soon get to find out why he can afford to buy her such expensive things...

Luc's a corrupt cop and is working for two mobsters who are paying Luc to turn a blind eye to all the tobacco and booze smuggling in the city. He kind of loses the rag a bit when their latest venture turns out to be gun running, but an increase in the old bribes softens that blow a little. There's a tiny bit of a problem, however. A nosy neighbour type has reported the registrations of two cars in his area that the mob would rather the police forget about, but to Luc this means going to that particular police station, which, unfortunately for him, is run by his own father. At the same time a body turns up in a steel drum and Luc now has to sort all this out before the mafia lose their already thin patience.

What makes this one a bit different from the rough cop socking people in the jaw is that Luc is basically struggling to cover up his initial mistake of having trusted the mob in the first place, and becomes a victim of his own over-confidence. There's a greater emotional depth here too as Luc's relationships with his girlfriend and father become strained as his shady dealings rise to the fore. Those looking for the brutal violence of De Leo's other films won't be disappointed either, as many characters here are outright violently murdered rather than having shootouts with each other. These films usually work better with the brutality turned up to ten anyway, although the bit with the kitten wasn't called for. As usual. This trend would get much, much worse!

I can't decide if Luc Merenda is a good actor or not because he just kind of glares at everything.