Bocca da fuoco

The Quick Pitch: A respected chemist is murdered because of information he has on some faulty pharmaceuticals. The chemist's wife, Adele Tasca (Shopia Loren) wants the government to bring gun-for-hire Jerry Fanon (James Coburn) out of retirement to track down the man responsible. From there on, things get complicated with twist after twist that I'm not going to even try to explain.

Across the internet, I see a lot of people slagging on Firepower. No, it's not great and it's got its share of problems, but it sure is fun. As my title indicates, tell me a movie starts both Loren and Coburn and I'm in. I thought both were quite good given the material they were handed. The supporting cast is interesting, with Anthony Franciosa, Eli Wallach, Vincent Gardenia, and O.J. Simpson (Simpson's line about not killing anyone made me chuckle). Add in plenty of over-the-top explosions, lots of intrigue, and some fantastic looking Caribbean locations, and everything is in place for a good time.

Unfortunately, though, there's a thing called plot that's necessary for a good movie. The problem with Firepower is that the plot is too complicated for its own good. There are so many twists and turns that I defy anyone to keep up and understand everything that's going on. Who is on whose side? What is the mob's role? Who is Fanon's lookalike and why is he in the movie? A simpler plot would have really helped.

One more thing that gave me more than one unintentional laugh, as Fanon and Co are making their escape from the baddie's plantation, they are helped along over and over again by some of the most fortunate coincidences I've ever seen. For example, Fanon is being chased by three guys on horseback with a helicopter overhead. Miraculously, just as the baddies are bearing down on Fanon, a preset explosive detonates, destroying the helicopter. The three biggest chunks of the wreckage just happen to hit the three guys on the horses. How convenient!

5/10

Aging stars try to cash in before the new 1980s action landscape changes it all. Featuring a fickle Sophia Loren, this movie lacks any real passion from its actors - whether it's romance or anger. The actors don't seem to feel anything no matter if they are betrayed, shot, or blowing bad guys up. The signature traits of each actor is missing for some reason: Loren minus the allure. Colburn minus the physicality, Wallach minus the menace. Some great character actors but they don't have enough to work with. The result of pushing out product after Jaws And Star Wars brought broad appeal back to the box office.

Forgettable time-waster, without purpose or meaning. It proves that even a few wild car chases and large-scale explosions can't sustain a desperately uninteresting and uninvolving story. The large cast is largely underused. (*1/2)

Michael Winner's films aren't complete without a lot of blood, and this one has enough to fill a bucket or two.

James Coburn is the retired hitman who comes back in to kidnap a certain Karl Stegner, a mysterious and very wealthy man wanted by the IRS and various other federal agencies.

Coburn teams up mainly with OJ Simpson, with some dubious assistance from Sophia Loren, and we have a 70s high-tech sort of caper. Lots of gadgetry, most of it explosive, large quantities of double-crossing and shooting, plenty of pretty shots of the Caribbean from floating gin palaces, and a plot of such ludicrous over-complexity that it's silly.

It was obviously immense fun to make: several very large houses get burned down, bulldozed and otherwise trashed. As do various means of transportation. With lots of explosions and shooting.

It's implausible and it's almost impossible to understand why anyone would do what these people do, but apparently this is what they do. Bullets fly and things blow up.

There is an awful lot of frenetic activity, constantly accompanied by the sound of gunfire with regular scenes of conflagration.

Did I mention that there's a lot of shooting and explosions in this? In case I didn't, there is, as well as a very confusing plot.

It's not a very good movie.

It is ironic that most of the director Michael Winner's films are pretty awful, there are a couple of exceptions like the original 'Death Wish', but they are few and far between. This movie is full of well known actors just picking up a paycheck, the plot is similar to a Bond film, though far inferior and the stunts are laughable. Just think that people had to go to a cinema to see this dross.