XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Wizard-8 I was really looking forward to watching this movie, but in the end I wasn't quite satisfied. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a terrible movie. In fact, during the first twenty or so minutes, I was telling myself, "This movie is going to be terrific!" There was a good musical score, and the movie was dishing out plenty of toughness and meanness during this opening. However, the twenty minutes that followed after that great opening were pretty dull, and the remaining fifty or so minutes were greatly uneven. There are some great moments (some of which involve very effective use of slow motion), but also plenty of slow spots. Helmut Berger, playing the bad guy, made the most of his scenes and ended up being an excellent villain. Richard Harrison, however, up to the last part of the movie was pretty dull, though that may be because up to the climax he is given very little to do. Also, his character doesn't seem that concerned when his sister and father are kidnapped. Is the movie worth seeing? For some people, probably, though I would recommend that those with interest in seeing the movie not go out of their way or pay a significant amount of money. I would also recommend that they find a widescreen print, since the pan and scan version makes some moments next to incomprehensible.

mf976 Poor me. I was so eager to see this movie. It's a "poliziottesco", it inspired Quentin Tarantino nonetheless, plus the big plus of having been shot in my hometown. And what a defeat, my friends. Yes, good camera angles. Yes, great score. Right. I won't repeat the profanities I said while watching, just believe me: the rest is plain, full, big, fat, outrageous rubbish all round. Ridiculous plot, no investigative work whatsoever, sloppy and very short car chases. The dialogues? Never mind, you'll barely hear them among the smacks and pows. They had only two sounds recorded: one smack and one pow. The same for all the movie along. Smack! Smack! Pow! Smack! Everybody goes berserk for no reason. "Good morning". Smack! Pow! You remain openmouthed. After the jailbreak Vanni Vitali visits his sister to take care of her. "You need money?" asks the supervillain, "Take these. They're fake. I've millions of them. All fake." Pause. "Listen, will you give me some real money, won't you?" In a scene the detective leaves the police HQ on a truck, no kidding, with a telescopic ladder mounted on, then he reaches the countryside, stops by a pole, climbs the ladder, connects a telephonic device to the wires and...makes a call to the HQ! Not enough? After the robbery the crooks run away taking some hostages with them. A dozen. The crooks leading in the car, the hostages following in a minivan. Driven by a hostage. OK, sorry, gotta stop now, I'm laughing by myself. Choking actually. I want to just say...laughing again. I'm sorry. I rest my case. Wow...

The_Void You can't get much cooler than an Italian crime film, and Beast With a Gun is yet another excellent example of this cult sub-genre! The film is quite a lot nastier than the majority of Italian crime films that I've seen, and at times it feels like it owes a lot to the exploitation genre! Naturally, there's the usual array of fistfights, shootouts and car chases; but here we've also got rapes and scenes of torture - among other stuff. So Beast With a Gun might not be everyone's cup of tea - but I think most people would agree that the nasty edge certainly gives the film a bit more 'bite'! The film begins with the escape of three nasty convicts. Their leader is a man named Nanni Vitali, and their first port of call after escaping from jail is killing the dirty scumbag that turned them in. However, when they catch up with him; Nanni takes a shine to his girlfriend, and proceeds to brutally rape her before killing the snitch. He also wants the girl to help them pull off a robbery; and she agrees to help them, but not before telling the police all about it...The main strength that this film has is undoubtedly Helmut Berger. Berger is absolutely spot on with his role as the nasty criminal at the centre of the tale, and every moment he's on screen is completely gripping. He is joined by experienced Eurocult actress Marisa Mell, who provides the eye candy in style! Richard Harrison rounds off the central cast with the token 'cop' role and like his co-stars - plays it well. Beast With a Gun also features an excellent soundtrack, which goes well with the film and definitely adds to every scene it features in. Realism obviously wasn't big on director Sergio Grieco's priority list, however, as the film features numerous instances that don't make a lot of sense - the scene that springs to mind instantly is the one where a certain female cast member is shot in the leg...and then instantly diagnoses it as 'not serious' and barely bats an eyelid! I've got to say, if I got shot it would be VERY SERIOUS, no matter where it got me. However, this isn't important as Beast With a Gun does the important thing - that being entertain the audience - very well, and fans of Italian crime films won't want to miss it!

bensonmum2 Four escaped convicts, led by Nanni Vitali (Helmut Berger), go on a killing spree. Their main target is the man who turned them in. After he's murdered, Nanni kidnaps his girlfriend, Giuliana Caroli (Marisa Mell), and threatens to kill her unless she agrees to help him pull-off a payroll heist. She double-crosses Nanni and goes to the police. Now Giuliana's life is in real danger.What Works: The Vicious Nanni. Nanni Vitali is one of those vicious, brutal, sadistic type characters that are necessary for this kind of film to work. The things he is capable of doing can be at times shocking. The ferocious way he beats-up the gas attendant for no real purpose at all is the perfect example. He's the kind of character you wouldn't want to run into in real life.Marisa Mell. Marisa Mell is another of those European actresses who may not have been much of a thespian, but she has a certain screen presence that's undeniable. It's too bad the decision was made to ignore her character for the final third of the movie.The Score. Until seeing Beast with a Gun, I'm not sure I had seen a film scored by Umberto Smaila. His main theme is one of those pieces of music that gets stuck in your head and you can't get it out. The rest is above average and adds to the drama and tension on screen.What Doesn't Work: Unbelievable Plot Points. While I could write about several instances where the movie stretches credibility, I'll limit these comments to two. First, no real police would bungle a heist set-up as bad as the police in this film. They have inside information. They know where and when the robbery is to take place. They have their own people poising as factory workers. Yet two people are killed and the robbers make off with a van full of hostages. Second, while scouting the vast Italian countryside, the police just happen to select and climb the very electric pole that will give them a clear view of the killers' hideout. How lucky can you be! Originality. Beast with a Gun is a fairly standard Italian police thriller that offers very little in the way of innovation. It's all routine, run-of-the-mill, seen-it-before type stuff. A little more creativity would have gone a long way to making it a good film of its type.In the end, if you're a fan of this kind of film, you probably won't see anything you haven't seen before. But what is presented is generally well done with some very nice accompanying music. And, Marisa Mell makes the whole thing worthwhile for me.