1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Muddled Euro Crime Affair, November 6, 2006
This review is from: A Man Called Magnum (DVD)
Like any other genre Italian Crime films can pretty much fall under 3 different catagories. The first is original and terrific, the second is decent to on automatic and the third is terrible and drek. A Man Called Magnum falls in the second catagory - Not terrific but an alright view for seasoned fans of the genre.
Luc Merenda plays a Milanese cop who arrives in Naples at the exact same time a crime boss returns home to find out his crime opperations are falling apart. Merenda gets partnered up with a smart mouthed yet sophisticated partner. Lots of action does occur such as chases (car and foot) and shoot-outs.
The castings is good enouth but the overall feel of the film is a little muddled do to an all-to-familiar script that any fan of the genre will have seen multiple times.
Director Michele Massimo Tarantini was better known for his Italian comedies and it is very evident in this film as he injects plenty of quips and one liners (mostly about sex). This comic relief does set this film appart from other films in the genre but many will probably find the humor to deplet the tension of certain sequences. An example of this is when Meranda's partner makes sexual quips during a suspenseful car chase. The quips just make the sequence odd. Another problem is the climax which never really gets off the ground.
Like most Italian directors, Tarantini makes Magnum never boring to look at. Lots of cool shots and locations. The pacing for the most part is tight and the funky score is likeable.
Fans of the Euro Crime genre will find plenty too like here even though they've seen the story plenty of times before. People new to the genre will most likely want to start someplace else.
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