Hungrige Skorpione

This film is often disregarded, but for undemanding fans of Italo exploiters this is a very pleasant diversion for ninety odd minutes.

Set in an imaginary South American republic, Thunder Squad churns out all the old clichés of the action genre, but the project is handled with style and verve that many a young wannabe could learn quite a bit from. If there is a complaint, it is in the lead casting of Antonio Sabato. One can only surmise how different it would have been with say David Warbeck or Fabio Testi.

So, for a wicked little romp taking in Kidnapping, jungle fighting, double cross, and shady Government dealings check this one out.

Viva Lenzi

On the tropical island of Manioca, during a MardiGras-like festival, the child of the former president is kidnapped by the thugs of a communistic dictator. A large corporation in Miami finances an expedition to recover the child, and thus hopes to put the democratic nominee back in power. To this end, they send four mercenaries into the jungle, all of whom are masters of warfare. However, while the four mercenaries are fighting their way through the green inferno, new developments are occurring back in Miami. It seems that the corporation has changed its stance, and is now trying to work out a deal with the communistic dictator. This is sadly one of Umberto Lenzi's most neglected films--and for no good reason at all. Perhaps the lack of distribution has contributed to the obscurity of this gem; but, for all serious fans, it remains to be rediscovered. This film is not remarkable insofar as it is extraordinary, but that it so keenly represents the ending of an era. Never again will we see the likes of Antonio Sabato, Ivan Rassimov, Werner Pochath, and Franco Fantasia, all teaming up together in one great film such as this. Besides being well-directed, this movie is augmented by a very nice soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani, as well as a surpise appearance by Andrea Aureli. Of course, it has its drawbacks as well. For instance, Ivan Rassimov's character is killed off much too soon (the same fate he suffered in Ruggero Deodato's "Atlantis Interceptors"). However, this movie contains some genuinely wonderful scenes that recall all the glory of Lenzi's earlier films. Highly recommended!

In the 1980s, the films of the Italian Cinecitta film industry were becoming increasingly poor. This also applies to this mercenary film by Umberto Lenzi (1931-2017), which belongs to the popular genre of macaroni and kombat films. At least an illustrious cast was secured for filming in the Dominican Republic. And this time, it's not about World War II or the Vietnam War, but about a military dictatorship in Latin America.

Although the politician Cordura has been expelled from his homeland of Manioc by the military dictatorship, he is preparing to return home. Just then, his young son is kidnapped by military henchmen. A five-man mercenary squad (Antonio Sabato, Ivan Rassimov, Werner Pochath, Sal Borgese, and Julia Kent) sets out into the jungle to rescue the kidnapped boy. It goes without saying that this will be more difficult than expected. The plot, at least, is consistently unraveled without any major surprises.

This film is certainly only recommended for die-hard fans of Italian cinema. Thanks to the involvement of the West German LISA FILM, three German-speaking actors are also involved: Julia Kent, Werner POCHATH, and Manfred SEIPOLD as the military antagonist. Julia Kent, who appears here under her real name Juliane FÜRSICH, at least offers a few surprises as the clever explosives expert.

Veteran Italian divos like Antonio SABATO (1943-2021) and Ivan RASSIMOV (1938-2003) merely recite the obligatory program.

I watched this Umberto Lenzi 1985 action/jungle adventure last night. Its plot resembles the Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle COMMANDO from the same year (Italians ripping off popular cinema...nah!) with a young child being kidnapped by mercenaries. Of course, the Italians one up the Terminator by including 5 commandos led by the always reliable Antonio Sabato. After an initially slow half hour set up, THUNDER SQUAD really picks up with the group trekking through the jungle and shoot up lots of stuff. Lenzi throws in a bit of social commentary regarding genocide and political machination but never dwells on it if he feels a good explosion can take the viewer back into the land of the Thunder Squad. Familiar faces Werner Pochath and Ivan Rassimov pop up as two members of the elite squad. This was release in the US on video as WILD TEAM.

Never one to ignore a trend, Italian director Umberto Lenzi has a crack at the jungle warfare/action genre as popularised by US hits like Rambo, Commando and Missing In Action, giving us this cheap and cheesy piece of instantly forgettable nonsense about a team of hard-as-nails mercenaries hired by a mining company to rescue the kidnapped son of a deposed South American president.

A mish-mash of ideas borrowed from the aforementioned American movies, Lenzi's film is unremarkable guff from start to finish, a repetitive succession of lame jungle encounters between the fearless soldiers-for-hire and numerous heavily armed goons. Expect the endless 'ratatatat' of machine gun fire, lots of explosions, a dreadful hang-gliding scene (the team's very ordinary equipment supposedly made of special material capable of avoiding detection by radar), random encounters with jungle critters, hilarious dubbing (the son of the president has a particularly irritating voice), much macho posturing from the mercs, and a gratuitous shot of explosives expert Sybil (Julia Kent) bending over in hot-pants, but nowhere near as much gore as one might hope for in a film by the man who gave us Cannibal Ferox.