'Genova A Mano Armata' probably isn't the go-to title for seasoned Euro-crime junkies and may not be the most pristine introduction to the heady, idiosyncratic insanity of the post-Dirty Harry, post French Connection, post-haste Italian poliziotteschi, where cinematic subtlety is disdained no less aggressively than political correctness, an alpha male mentality dominates with the more classic examples of the genre created by mercurial mavericks like Sergio Martino, Lucio Fulci, Stelvio Massi, Fernando Di Leo and, of course, Enzo G. Castellari, and while the consistently grungy 'Genova A Mano Armata' lacks the overall finesse and professional polish of the grandmasters of grind, zesty director Mario Lanfranchi assembled a truly exciting cast of celebrated actors and delivered a rumbustious, bullet-paced, bloody-knuckled, skull-rocking roundhouse poliziotteschi that isn't pretty to look at but righteously smashes all the right B-Movie buttons into a joyous pulp! (fiction)
Ostensibly this is another exploitative riff on Friedkin's classic, in this especially hectic instance, the drug-dealing machinations of Caleb played by uber Euro-cult legend Howard Ross who is on rare form playing the machine-gunning thug enforcer who works for his vulpine, heart-palpitatingly beautiful boss Marta Mayer (Maude Adams), and stumbling into this heroin-sticky milieu, tougher than a Teflon truss ex-cop 'The American' (Tony Lo Bianco) who not only can take a severe beating gives out a few himself on his bloody, fist-flying quest to retrieve the missing ransom money he was initially hired to locate, but discovering a despicably duplicitous trail of teeth-rattling twists, terminal trysts and an endless beef with the increasingly less stoical Commisario Lo Gallo (Adolfo Celi) who swiftly tires of Lo Bianco's frequently uncouth maverick sleuthing methodology.
There is no denying the plain fact that 'Genova A Mano Armata' is a derivative work, the chaotic, slam-bang action while plentiful lacks the bravura style of a Lenzi or Castellari, yet Lo Bianco is a feisty, engaging lead with the enigmatic Adolfo Celi and sublime Maud Adams being no less entertaining to watch. While formulaic, it's a bellicose B-Movie blast and the wickedly grimy crime-funk score by maestro Franco Micalizzi is a tarmac-squealing, greasy Wah-funking delight! Kudos for avoiding the J & B ubiquity as twin-fisted law bringer Lo Bianco, like some exiled Droog favours milk over blended imported booze! 'Genova A Mano Armata' gets 3 busted knuckles out of five!
