A Special Cop in Action

Maurizio Merli returns as Inspector Maurizio Merli in full ass-kicking mode, hell bent on capturing mob boss John Saxon, a crime boss so slippery people rub bread on him in an attempt to make some sort 'man oil' bruschetta. This time, Saxon's organised a mass-child kidnapping and a band robbery but can Merli link these jerks to the main, head jerk? Not without heaps of trouble.

First off, the kidnappers hide the kids in an empty grain silo and are supposed to be keeping a low profile, so of course one of the kids gets ill and dies, and one of the kidnappers attempts to rape a local girl and brings the cops right to the door of the place they're hiding in. This results in Merli himself being thrown from a moving car as he bravely substitutes himself for the kids that didn't die, and the kidnappers bravely killing and burning the jerk that messed up the kidnapping.

Luckily, Merli's got a man on the inside in the form of kick-ass stuntman/actor Massimo Vanni, who leads him to the kidnappers, but not before Vanni himself gets tied to the back of a car and dragged around a quarry until dead. Vanni also does a bit of disco dancing and wears a neat white disco suit for all you out there obsessed with diminutive Italian actor Massimo Vanni.

Not too give too much of the plot away (and there is a plot) this is a top notch Euro-crime film with all the usual car chases, gun fights, moustache action, police brutality, prison scenes, children being slapped about, women being threatened, fighting on roofs, whiskey drinking, and Massim Vanni that you need. What can you say about John Saxon other than 'his hair hasn't changed shape or length for three decades'? The man is Italian movie gold.

Mirella D'Angelo turns up as a grieving sister to the dead kid which blossoms into a romantic sub-plot with Merli. I was totally confused that Massimo Vanni got killed because I'm certain he turns up in later Euro Crime films as Maurizio Merli's sidekick.

It's all happening in this one, great opening theme music backed up by plenty of nasty 1970s action from the get go. Poor man's Franco Nero, bottle blond Maurizio Merli, has his hands full before the opening credits finish rolling, with not only a violent bank robbery but also a mass kidnapping of children on their way to school. Later there are a couple of the best car chases I've seen in a "Poliziotteschi" movie, as well as the obligatory rape scene, and a particularly graphic "dragged behind a car" execution. All this and a surprise ending thrown in for good measure, what more could you ask?

In director Franco Martinelli's highly regarded crime classic, 'Italia a mano armata' aka 'Special Cop in Action' (1976), the super-svelte, bullet-dodging pugilist, Maurizio Merli reprises his most incendiary role as the maverick,majestically moustachioed, skin-tight shirt wearin', all fists blazin', zero tolerance, Commisario Betti, for yet another gonzoid, thrillingly non-PC eruptions of hard-boiled, Italian Poliziotteschi action! The craven, ill-dressed thugs foolhardy attempt to kidnap a group of school children on Commisario Betti's watch, bloodily unleashes a delirious deluge of exhilarating retribution from the inimitable, golden-haired paragon of righteous vengeance, whose mesmerizingly macho modus operandi of brutally annihilating balaclava bovver boys with his jubilant, jaw-smashing roundhouses, proves more than adequate when Betti finally confronts his arch nemesis, Albertini, energetically played with obvious gusto by fellow Euro-crime icon, John Saxon!

Maestro Martinell's exciting 70s actioner 'Special Cop in Action' is demonstratively one of the most appealingly hotheaded Euro crime epics, galvanized by a scintillating squall of thrilling, adrenalized action set pieces, the Berretta blasting mayhem made all the more deliriously entertaining by bravura composer, Franco Micalizzi's gritty, funkier-than-thou, street-tough, heart-poundingly groovy score! This is dynamic crime funk par excellence, adding considerable elan to an already essential Italian cult classic! If for some wholly obscure reason you only watch one high octane, head-knockingly heroic Maurizio Merli poliziottesco, I have little doubt that witnessing the pulse-wreaking whirlwind of unbridled bellicosity fuelling 'Special Cop in Action' will make you a hardcore Merli maniac for life!

Call me sick or call me sadist, but nothing makes me merrier than watching a raw and excessively violent Italian cop thriller from the 1970's! These so-called "Poliziotteschi" flicks simply have everything that avid cult fanatics could possibly be seeking for, and more! And also this "Italia A Mano Armato" (a.k.a. "A Special Cop in Action") features incredibly massive doses of hard-boiled action, nail-biting suspense, dazzling car chases (and rooftop chases), badass characters, nasty plot twists, controversial political/social themes, gritty atmospheres and a sizzling soundtrack. Director Franco Martinelli is perhaps not the most prolific name in this genre, but he is clearly playing in the same league as the genuine experts (Umberto Lenzi, Stelvio Massi, Fernando Di Leo…) in terms of quality and sheer entertainment. In good old Poliziotteschi tradition, there isn't much of a stable plot, but the pacing moves forward like a derailed train and something new & exciting happens approximately every one and a half minutes. Maurizio "Mustache" Merli returns for the third and final time as commissioner Betti, the unorthodox and relentless copper with fists of steel and an allergy for political injustice. Betti is up to his neck in crime scenes again, including violent bank robberies, heroin smuggling and – most repugnant of all – the cowardly kidnapping of six defenseless school children in exchange for a giant ransom. Betti is convinced that all the separate crimes lead back to one major gangster kingpin, namely the sly Albertelli. But Albertelli is a widely respected businessman and uses all his political power and influence to keep Betti out of his way. You needn't look for style or visual elegance in this type of cinema, as this certainly isn't similar to the works of contemporary Italian A-list directors like Fredrico Fellini or Michelangelo Antonioni. The Poliziotteschi films were initially inspired by Hollywood blockbusters like "Dirty Harry" and "The French Connection", but they gradually evolved into a fully unique genre that also perfectly illustrated the depressing social and economic climate in Italy at that time. You'll notice here in this film as well that the tone and atmosphere are continuously grim, the good guys embittered and even a happy ending is out of the question. The performances are terrific, with Merli as the unstoppably fit copper. You can even throw him out of a speeding car or lock him up in a prison amidst hundreds of personal enemies, and still he never gives up! Cult deity John Saxon is fabulous as the slimy and sardonic villain Albertelli. He only appears on screen after half an hour, but he plays an essential part in the outrageous climax. Sadly enough there's always a shortage of strong women in these movies. The only noteworthy females here are Merli's insignificant love interest and a squealing rape victim. The extended car chase forms the highlight of sheer adrenaline (look out for the little black car that gets rammed into the river) and the shootout in the harbor is unforgettable as well. My hat off to the stuntmen and camera operators that literally risked their lives in order to provide this cult gem with genuine action sequences, shot from imaginative angles and viewpoints.

There are a lot of things that go into a crime film, from car chases to clever plots by the crooks to betrayals and turn-arounds, power struggles, etc. This one is memorable in that it gets full marks for all the bits that go into one, and it delivers that for more than an hour and a half full stop. The dialogue was a bit trite at times, which is why I gave it 9/10, but if you like *any* kind of crime movie, I think you would not only like this one, it's one of those that has you thinking about it for a while afterwards. I grabbed a big pizza pie and a nice red wine and really enjoyed watching this. The director did all the usual Italian filone, but was pretty mediocre with his Westerns and it took him a while to get going with this filone, but I think in this one he hit his straps. I think this was actually better than his good, later, Roma Violenta. Has to get 9/10 in my book as it's a good example of the genre that transcends it to compete across the broader genre, in every era.