As Good As It Gets

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

After his wife is murdered by a gang of cutthroats, Django (Anthony Steffen again) saves one of the gang's ex-associates from a hanging in order to identify the men responsible, finding them caught up in a gun smuggling scheme involving the Mexican revolution.Although it steals ideas from about half a dozen other spaghetti westerns, this fake Django sequel is certainly fast-paced enough, with adequate production values and enough action to fill up it's running time. However, the comic relief is sometimes too pervasive and not very funny either. Way too often, it kills the tension and takes away from Steffen's hard-edged character.Speaking of Django, as a justice/vengeance seeker, he sure is morally dubious here, gunning down a lot of people not responsible for his wife's death, including some men attempting to hang a condemned criminal (What a hypocrite!) and Mexican soldiers that just happen to be around when he kills one of the men that is responsible!The "surprise" ending is fun, though you can see it coming a mile away.

Cunning ace gunslinger Django (a solid and engaging performance by Anthony Steffen) enlists the assistance of loud-mouthed thief Carranza (an equally sturdy and amusing portrayal by Stelio Candelli) after his wife is raped and killed by a band of vicious renegades. Carranza is the sole person who can identify said killers. Director Edoardo Mulargia, working from a compact script by Nino Stresa, relates the fun story at a snappy pace, stages the plentiful gunfights with rip-snorting verve, and tops everything off with nifty touches of goofy humor. Steffen and Candelli display a winning chemistry in the leads; they receive sound support from Chris Avram as the lethal Jeff, Donato Castellenata as the friendly Paco, and Riccardo Pizzuti as the dastardly Thompson. Luscious brunette stunner Esmeralda Baldi supplies some tasty eye candy as the fetching Lola. The surprise ending is a pip. Marcello Maciocchi's dynamic cinematography injects lots of extra invigorating energy. Piero Umiliani's robust sweeping score hits the lively stirring spot. A cool little oater.

This movie, like most of the lower-tier spaghetti westerns, is pretty low on thrills and frills. What you do get is competent acting, surprisingly crisp gun battles, and a very nice zinger ending. While it doesn't have the novelty of Sabata or Keoma, it stands on it's own pretty well. I'm hesitant to evaluate the original based on this terrible DVD because it looks like about 20 minutes is just completely missing. If you're watching this, you go in knowing that most spaghetti westerns are crap-awful, so when you find one like this that's actually capable of entertaining you, it's a welcome event. This certainly isn't one for fans of the genre to pass up.

A group of bandits raped and murdered a woman that, for their bad luck, was Django's wife.After that,the famous gunman goes in a vengeance against the bad guys, killing everyone in his trail. This one is a typical Italian western although is really strange to find Django as a married man. Some good moments - some violent shots, some comic scenes -but it's just routine material but good for spaghetti westerns buffs. I give this a 6 (six).