Botte di Natale

The film deals with the famous brothers , Trinity and Bambino , both of whom are two likeable bounty-hunters - Terence Hill and Bud Spencer - who hate each other . Then their mother attempts to reunite them for the celebration of Christmas .

The film is based on a notorious poem , ¨Night before the Christmas¨, whose title was exhibited in many countries and being developed a heart-warming story . As always , they will confront enemies by means of successive struggles without blood , neither gore , nor brutal murders , but entertainment and amusement . The ordinary confrontations are with no violence and predominates comedy and parody , the choreographic fights are slightly made and clean . The humor is continuous , laughters are based on physical differences and diverse personalities of the protagonists . Terence Hill plays as a sympathetic and rogue gunslinger with beautiful eyes and fast-weapon . Bud Spencer as a corpulent, bouncing and grumpy man but with a good heart , helping children and poor people and of course his weakness eating beans . Their silly characters have a certain resemblance to Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy . Storyline is a little bit ridiculous but it has its enjoyable moments here and there . The picture was realized twenty some years later ¨My name is Trinity ¨ and ¨ Trinity is still my name ¨ by E. B. Clucher that obtained too much successes , however this recent version was a flop because of Trinity and Bambino time had passed . Supposed to be the third part but due to copyright problems it couldn't be and is deemed an unofficial sequel. The film provided a nostalgic and familiar reunion of the agreeable pair and is only for their hardcore fans . It contains atmospheric and lively musical score by the Italian musician Pino Donaggio. The motion picture was regularly directed by Terence Hill who also directed and interpreted ¨Lucky Luke¨ in similar approaching to this one. Rating : 5.5/10, passable and acceptable, but inferior than two previous entries.

Great, tragic actor Helmut Berger once said about aging and loosing his good looks: "I'm sorry that I had to grow old. If I knew it meant so much to you, I would have died younger."

Watching this movie is like attending a high-school reunion after 15-odd years: yeah, it's a happy occasion but at the same time odd and (despite we usually don't want to admit it to ourselves) a tad bit depressing. Good to see the old faces and see that they've been doing well – at the same time, many haven't aged that well and you discover, that you no longer share the same interests with your former best buddies. It's not only that Spencer and Hill got older but the chemistry has changed to a point where the old 'vibe' can no longer be replicated.

I was looking forward to seeing this film as much as I was afraid of it. Not because Spencer and Hill had aged but rather because I had been rather disappointed with their prior solo work in the late 80's and early 90's. Spencer had almost become a parody of himself with TV works like "Noi Siamo Angeli" and "Extralarge" while I was less than impressed with Hills "Renegade" and version(s) of "Lucky Luke". After all, kids from my generation here in Germany grew up with the original "Trinity"-films, mostly knowing most lines by heart and replicating them in the schoolyard (that and the fight-scenes, which often led to some rather painful situations, but that is another story). Some even made it a tradition to eat cook up tins of beans during the TV-reruns, just in time for the notorious eating-scenes.

In its defense, "The Troublemakers" by itself isn't a bad film. It's slower, less light-hearted and misses the direction of seasoned hands like E.B Clucher or Michele Lupo. Like a rock-band from the 70's playing a reunion-gig, they still know their moves and tunes, but the movement is no longer as graceful, the show is no longer as innovative (and certainly don't expect any new hit-songs). Sure, I'd watch a rerun of "The Troublemakers" on TV, but I certainly wouldn't watch it in a row with the "Trinity"-films.

A couple of years ago there were rumors about Bud and Terence getting together one more time for a variation on the Jeckyll & Hyde theme. The project apparently fell through and is now in nirvana. Even as a loyal, seasoned fan, I'm not ashamed to say: "Maybe for the better." Best to leave the party at the zenith, not when the party is fading out already.

5/5 (and don't think that I didn't wish I could give it more)

I rented this movie last week. My son and I are true "Terrence and Bud"-fanatics, and I must say that this movie doesn't make anybody in that genre disappointed. Although the dialog and acting is as "bad" as it was 25 years ago, in the Trinity movies", it is still worth watching, just for the h#ll of it. Recomended for any Trinity-fans out there.

I really liked this duo's Trinity movies, but after that they just kept appearing in repeat formulas, as cops, vagrants, travelers, what have you. This time, they even turned the clock back to feature as (half) brothers, a joke that had really grown tired by this point in their careers.

By 1994, Terence was over the hill and Bud a spent force. They had grown too old to do a mostly silly comedy like TROUBLEMAKERS, and I felt rather sad at the end that either they had not saved enough dough to retire or that they simply did not know when to quit.

I am being generous in giving 5 stars to this unbelievable, repetitive and overlong dud.

It's a pretty weird experience, watching this movie. An affectionate, warm-hearted reunion for Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, it is also a bittersweet farewell to an old era of movies. It will probably appeal only to fans of the duo, as they once again go through their familiar motions (Spencer's mutterings, Hill's smiles, bean-eating, fist-fighting, helping the poor, etc.), only this time there are some serious dramatic moments as well. On the other hand, considering their age, you can't help but wonder if perhaps this film should never have been made, if they should have retired more gracefully a few years earlier. But if you insist on seeing it, try to avoid the DVD version, as the image has been blown up way out of proportion to fill the entire screen - perhaps in keeping with the tradition of the awful full-screen versions of the "Trinity" films (to which this film is without a doubt an unofficial sequel - I wonder why they couldn't make it "official"). (**)