A Man Called Magnum/Review

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Inspector Dario Mauri (Luc Merenda) arrives in Naples to help the police force put the breaks on the mafia syndicate that is smuggling drugs. He is quickly given a partner to work with named Capece (Enzo Cannavale), who turns out to be an older guy that provides the films funnier moments through his off color retorts. The head mafioso of the area, Laurenzi (Claudio Gora) keeps a low profile as he appears to be a quiet businessman as we see him picking up his young daughter at the same train station where Mauri first appears. When Laurenzi's latest drug shipment gets stolen, and three of his deliverymen are killed, he must find out who is behind the heist. It turns out that the robbers are in his own organization and have turned on him. He sends out an assassin named "Dogheart"(Adolfo Lastretti) to track down the traitors and find the drugs at any cost. Meanwhile, Inspector Mauri and Capece are trying to stop the violence that is overtaking the city due to Laurenzi's family problem.

There are some exciting car chases in the film, and some great hit sequences including one in which a bomb is thrown into a room where Inspector Mauri is trying to get an informant to tell him who is behind the crimes. Mauri also gets several secret letters from a child who gives him information in the form of crayon drawings which adds a nice sub-plot to the film. A Man Called Magnum isn't one of my favorite poliziotteschi (it never really breaks out of its paint by numbers style) but it's still a well made film with some good acting and direction. Recommended for genre completists.

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Peter Roberts is the co-founder/editor-in-chief of the Grindhouse Cinema Database (GCDb) and contributor to the GCDb's sister site Furious Cinema. A Massachusetts native, he is an avid film fan that has been immersed in the world of entertainment and pop culture his entire life. He is a professional digital media designer and educator.