Rugged famous gunslinger Richard Martin (an excellent performance by Enrico Maria Salerno) has both of his hands shot in a brutal hold-up on a train by ruthless former student Billy Kane (a perfectly nasty turn by Venantino Venantini). The bitter and vindictive Martin joins forces with amiable and mysterious escaped convict Ricky Shot (a solid and engaging portrayal by Terry Jenkins) to exact revenge on Kane and his men. Director Massimo Dallamano relates the complex and absorbing story at a steady pace, maintains an appropriately harsh and gritty tone throughout, stages the plentiful exciting shoot-outs with rip-roaring aplomb, and tops things off with a nice sense of deliciously dry dark humor. The sound acting from the capable cast rates as a substantial asset: Salerno and Jenkins display a pleasingly natural chemistry as the appealing protagonists, Venantini makes for a suitably hateful villain, Cris Huerta is amusingly scuzzy as slimy bandito Vigonza, the lovely Maria Martin adds considerable sass and sexiness as Martin's loyal lady friend Betty Starr, and ubiquitous character actor Victor Israel has a neat bit as an ill-fated train conductor. Emilio Foriscot's expansive widescreen cinematography offers a wealth of sweeping panoramic shots of the dusty and desolate landscape. Egisto Macchi's moody'n'twangy score likewise hits the harmonic spot. An attempted ambush in a bar is a definite stirring highlight. The tense final confrontation between Kane and Ricky also totally smokes. An extremely worthwhile and entertaining oater.
Review of Bandidos
