Nico Palmieri is a police inspector who battles against hoodlums terrorising a sleepy Italian village, extorting cash from the locals. When a powerful gang of extortionists forces the businessmen of an Italian city to pay for their protection, the tough Inspector Nico Palmieri investigates the case. However he is surprised by the racketeers and ends up seriously injured. When he is discharged from the hospital, he joins the victims of the extortion who are trying to find a witness to testify in court as the mobsters are always released by the Attorney Giovanni Giuni. Only the restaurant owner, Luigi Giulti, accepts this burden; but his daughter is brutally raped by the gangsters and commits suicide later. Nico is pressed by his superiors to drop the case but he invites his friend, Pepe, to help him using illegal methods - believing that the end justifies the means. There is a war between the criminals and the police with tragic consequences, and Nico is fired from the police department. Nico decides to join Luigi; Pepe; a marksman that saw his wife being raped and burned alive; the owner of a nightclub maimed for the rest of his life; and a felon that wants a passport and destroy the gang - in a battle that becomes bloodshed between vigilantes and criminals. Enzo G. Castellari delivers another efficient polizia flick but unfortunately one that is not up there with the best of his output. THE BIG RACKET is another typical contender for the popular crime thriller genre in '70s Italy, complete with heroic cops, sadistic villains and lots of corporate corruption upsetting our detective's investigation. The story is particularly strong here as the film tells of a series of businessmen falling foul of the villains before teaming up to as a vigilante group going out to get the bad guys – definitely a novel twist for the genre. Castellari's strength is, as usual, in the action, and the stand-out here is a shootout at a rail yard, complete with machine-gunnings and all of the tense heroics and violence you could wish for. Sadly his famed use of slow-motion is in short supply but the film is nevertheless powerful and impactful in places. The warehouse shoot-out is also a good one, sustaining interest despite being lengthy.<br/><br/>The cast contains the usual big boys of the genre: Sal Borgese, Renzo Palmer, Vincent Gardenia and Orso Maria Guerrini are all here as dodgy roguish types, led by the dashing Fabio Testi as the chief cop (Testi always underplays his roles, the extreme opposite of the overacting madman Maurizio Merli). The film is pretty shocking and has only just been released uncut in Britain, as the bad guys have a tendency to rape young, innocent women and then set them on fire afterwards. Castellari's direction is strong but the script is workmanlike throughout and there are no big surprises or sequences which really lift it above the norm for the genre. Good, solid, sometimes sleazy fun from Italy. A brilliant addition to the Italian crime genre and sure to capture the heart of any sleaze lover, "The Big Racket" is definitely one of the best in it's class.<br/><br/>Fabio Testi is a knockout as the protagonist, a renegade cop who is out for blood and justice, assembling a team of outcasts to punish the wicked. Plenty of blood and violence adorn this flick, and I recommend a couple of cold Peroni's and a plate to spaghetti for the perfect evening.<br/><br/>All in all, probably my second favorite Castellari effort, second only to "The Inglourious Bastards" but I think "The Big Racket" is technically a BETTER film. No complaints at all here.<br/><br/>10 out of 10, kids.
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372 weeks ago