I cinque del Condor

A good assemble cast of B-movie stars including Antonio Sabato (who bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Ricardo Montalban!), the ever creepy Werner Pochath and Ivan Rassimov star in this sadly flat 'action' flick in which a group of highly trained mercenaries undertake a dangerous mission (yawn) to rescue a kidnapped boy from some guerrillas somewhere in South America.

Boring throughout with poorly executed action scenes, bland characterisations and a particularly sloppy and childish feel to it, this film has very little to recommend it.

Certainly one of director Umberto Lenzi's lesser efforts, this one is best left on the shelf. Oh, and did I mention the horrific 'humming' soundtrack over the end credits?.....*shudder*

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

What happens when you mix THE WILD GEESE + "The A Team" + Uncommon Valor, but then mix in a bunch of Eurocult actors (including Antonio Sabato in one of his last meaningful roles), and add a touch of scifi? You get WILD TEAM.

Generally this film is pretty trashy and low quality, especially in the writing department and of obviously low budget. However, Umberto Lenzi skillfully directs the film well enough to inject it with enough energy to keep things moving. The cast of recognizable faces plays to each one's strengths (Werner Pochath as the creepy guy, Ivan Rassimov the stern know-it-all, Antonio Sabato as a smarmy leader, and Sal Borgese as the goofball). The odd woman out is Julia Fursich (Kent) who looks very angry and uncomfortable most of the film, which adds a layer of humor to the experience.

There's plenty of pyrotechnics and lackluster action on display; enough to make Bruno Mattei, Ignazio Dolce, or Antonio Margheriti blush. It's all handled pretty cheaply with no blood squibs or creativity to any of the deaths, but moves along at a quick enough pace that you won't care too much.

Much like CROSS MISSION of a year later, this action film features a hilariously out-of-place sci fi touch in the form of a group of psychics (!), including Gabriella Giorgelli (!!), used to locate the film's MacGuffin, and are able to somehow tap into a powerful supercomputer for more accuracy (!!!). There's also a pretty good Stelvio Cipriani score on display, certainly a cut above most mercenary movies of the period. He certainly brings in a lot of cues inspired by his earlier work on THE GREAT ALLIGATOR and TOUGH TO KILL, which certainly beat this movie to the punch of Italian WILD GEESE knockoffs shot in the Dominican Republic. They weren't quite done though, as the film THE LAST MATCH, a few years later, would go on to squeeze what little juice was left in the genre.

All in all a serviceable time waster.

Thunder Squad (1985)

** (out of 4)

A brutal and sadistic dictator kidnaps the son of a South American rebel who is living in Miami. The evil dictator has the son so a group of missionaries led by Antonio Sabato heads into the jungles to try and rescue him.

This action picture from director Umberto Lenzi goes under a variety of titles including SQUADRA SELVAGGIA, I CINQUE DEL CONDOR and WILD TEAM but no matter what you call it you'll never mistake it for a good movie. No, this here is one of those films that isn't a bad movie and it's not a good movie and it pretty much stays in the middle of the road in regards to the quality. With that said, the final thirty-minutes are entertaining enough to make the film worth watching.

It's clear that Lenzi was shooting this on a shoe-string budget because there's really nothing over-the-top here in regards to the violence or the action. The action scenes are certainly done on a smaller scale and you can tell that editing was the biggest friend to the director who used it to try and make the picture look bigger than it actually was. The violence is certainly PG rated and there's really nothing offensive here so those expecting violence or gore might be disappointed.

Sabato makes for an interesting lead but I wouldn't say he was a major find for the role. Ivan Rassimov, Werner Pochath and Julia Kent round out the supporting players and for the most part the four of them are entertaining enough for this type of film. As I said, the final thirty-minutes certainly make up for a rather slow start and once we hit the jungle things certainly pick up and make the film worth watching.

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.