Rage

Torrino Ricci had years of filmmaking experience before he even started on A Man Called Rage. However, the film's outcome suggests he might have been better off searching for other projects. Helmed by Ricci and written by Jaime Comas Gil and Eugenio Benito, the movie stands out for its perplexing quality. One of the most notable aspects is the eclectic and disconcerting soundtrack. While some scenes are accompanied by smooth jazz and easy-listening tunes, others are plagued with jarring and discordant music, seemingly chosen based solely on what rights were accessible. This terrible soundtrack detracts from the film's action, creating an odd juxtaposition when, for example, a Kenny G-esque song plays during Rage's battles with wastelanders.

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a group of fighters sets out on a perilous journey, guided by a mercenary named Rage. Their mission is to find uranium, a precious resource that could save their people. Along their path, Rage and his crew will encounter some of the most brutal and merciless killers that the surface has to offer, making their quest all the more dangerous and uncertain.

I am really struggling with this one. It's horrible. Bruno Minniti is so boring and a horrible leading character. The dialogue is laughable. And the worst part is that it's so horrible to try and follow along with. Everything is so drab and lame. Anna Karin and Taida Urruzola are the best parts of the movie and they are only there for eye-candy. And it's hard to keep them in order. I think Anna Karin was traveling with the bad-guy Slash. But she might have been the lady traveling with our heroes.

Unfortunately, there isn't enough here to provide a meaningful rating. Half a star.

What can be said that wasn't covered by the other comment? This movie is a truly surprising delight, especially considering that it's a sequel to a quite droll and lifeless film, the previous year's cash-in RUSH with largely the same cast and crew. What RAGE has that RUSH lacks is a lot of kinetic energy - our heroes are constantly on the move encountering new obstacles and it's not too predictable, only weighed down by the episodic nature of everything.

The film really is a showcase for the abilities of editor Vincenzo Tomassi, who manages to breathe a lot of life into the action scenes and a shockingly powerful pre-credits intro with some spectacular stock footage of New York, Nuclear Tests, and impoverished children of the 3rd world into a representation of World War 3. On top of that you have some solid musical work by Stelvio Cipriani who was easily one of the best composers in the world working at the time. However I have no idea what's going on with the music choice during the battle with the nuke mutants mid-movie. It sounds like music out of a Jamaican cabana. Had director Ricci lost his mind or was he going for some sort of brain-bending juxtaposition? I don't get it.

Most bizarrely of all is how this film premeditates a lot of elements seen in the next year's MAD MAX BEYOND THUNDERDOME and even a little DAY OF THE DEAD (a chase involving a locomotive, whimsical old adversary out for revenge, survivors driving jeeps around underground bunkers), rather than straight-up ripping off MAD MAX 2 like so many of its peers. It reminds me of how the similarly cheaply made Italian JAWS knockoff KILLER CROCODILE feels like practically the same movie as ANACONDA which came out almost a decade later. I really doubt George Miller or George Romero saw this film, but I suppose with this material there's only so much one can do.

The opening minutes state immediately clear what kind cheap, trashy, and derivative piece of action/Sci-Fi fodder this will be. "A Man called Rage" starts with a montage of clichéd archive footage, primarily of nuclear explosions intermixed with images of crying children in 3rd world countries, and dense traffic in metropole cities. This should be enough information for the experienced viewer to deduct that the entire world was destroyed, and only small groups of people still roam around in a post-apocalyptic landscape. What comes next is a very mundane and unexciting story of a lone warrior (the titular Rage) teaming up with a few others and trying to find a cave full of uranium before another posse (led by a guy named Slash) does. I still don't fully understand why they are looking for uranium, though. Do they intend to blow up whatever is left of the world as well?

Instead of uranium, they find a cave full of old books and philosophical messages, which makes this flick a bizarre crossover between "Mad Max II" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Makes sense as Italian exploitation-directors were never too ashamed of ripping off several blockbusters at once; - and Tonino Ricci was one of the most shameless ones of them all. "A Man called Rage" is a weak film, with as main defaults uninteresting lead characters and a severe shortage of extreme & gratuitous violence. There are also positive notes, namely the outfit of the heavenly beautiful actress Taida Urruzola, the dazzling score by Stelvio Cipriani that deserved a better screenplay, and an ingenious battle sequence of an old train wagon verses a bunch of dune buggies and motorcycles.

In a post-apocalyptic future, people have banded together for survival. One group who would like to see the old world restored to all its glory believes they know the location where uranium was once housed. They hope to power their cities with it. Another group would like to get their hands on the uranium for their own, more destructive purposes. Who will get there first?

First, what's with the character names in these post-apocalyptic movies? Rage? Slash? Trash? Ratchet? Bronx? Hammer? One? Why not Roger or Fred or even Bill? I think the Italian filmmakers tried to outdo each other with their names. Rage and Slash from A Man Called Rage are perfect examples.

As far as this kind of movie goes, A Man Called Rage isn't overly original. There are only two scenes I can think of that stray from the standard playbook - the seeds at the end (nice touch) and the train. The rest is derivative filmmaking at its finest. A noticeable lack of budget doesn't help. Costuming is often as uninspired (and cheap) as tying a t-shirt around an actor's head. There's a lot of driving that serves as inexpensive padding. I can't tell you how many scenes begin with the good guys' jeep coming into frame, stopping, and someone pointing and saying, "Look". It happens over and over. Finally, the best (or worst) example of the film's budget limitations has to be earthquake. A few pebbles thrown across the surface of a larger rock while the camera shakes doesn't make for an effective natural disaster. Throw in some poorly choreographed fight scenes, iffy acting, and ridiculous special effects and you've got the makings of a real stinker.

However, despite all the flaws, A Man Called Rage is still watchable. The main actors playing the good guys are likable enough. Bruno Minniti is oddly enjoyable in the role of Rage. The chief baddie is appropriately over-the-top. Even though there's padding galore, there are some nice action sequences sprinkled throughout. Like I said, I especially enjoyed the scenes on the train. Finally, the ending worked for me. The use of the seeds was something completely different from what I was expecting or what I've seen before in one of these movies. It's a nice, restrained, upbeat moment.

Oh, I almost forgot another big plus for The Man Called Rage. Those painted-on jean shorts worn by lead actress, Taida Urruzola, are the real star. Wow!

A surprisingly watchable post-apocalyptic Italian flick.

I wasn't expecting much from it and I had a decent time while watching it. Its not as good as something like Escape from the Bronx or 2019 After The Fall of New York, but Rage still manages to be entertaining.

Quite exploitive and mindless but really fun and somewhat interesting. I would recommend it for fans of the genre, even if I don't like that many post-apocalyptic films.