Mean Tricks (1992) User Reviews

Charles Napier euro-crime film, directed by Umberto Lenzi--a treat for Napier fans

[django-1 · 8/10 · 25 September 2004]

I've been a fan of Charles Napier ever since seeing Russ Meyer's CHERRY, HARRY, AND RAQUEL at a drive-in circa 1973. After appearing in COP TARGET with Robert Ginty for director Umberto Lenzi, Napier got a chance to star in HIS OWN euro-crime film for Lenzi, and this film MEAN TRICKS is it. What a treat it is to see Napier beat the crap out of various punks and mouth great b-movie crime dialogue that sounds like it could have come from one of the later Mike Shayne novels. No one can get as many syllables out of the word "Bu**s**t" as Napier can. This has the flat, euro-TV-movie look of many later Lenzi films, but the man knows how to make an unpretentious genre film that delivers the goods. If the idea of Charles Napier as a hard-drinking, tough-talking crimebuster with a bad attitude is appealing to you, DO seek out this gem of a film. It's Napier at his best!