Django - A Volta do Vingador

At last an official sequel to Sergio Corbucci's classic DJANGO and what a return! Franco Nero reprises the role that made him famous, and it fits him like an old glove. Nello Rossati directs the film with some flair, improving on his previous film with Nero the wacky TOP LINE. The late Christopher Connelly turns in another great performance, and Donald Pleasence is a treat in his amusing role as Ben Gunn. Lots of action and plenty of style make for an enjoyable film and this is certainly that...see it!

N.B. Try to get hold of the Anchor Bay double DVD set, it includes the missing prologue featuring spaghetti western favourite William Berger.

Recent years have seen many iconic actors return to iconic roles; Bruce Willis returned as John McClane, Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones and Sylvester Stallone returned as Rambo - but before all of them, Franco Nero returned to his most iconic role for Django Strikes Again - the only official sequel to Sergio Corbucci's 1966 classic Django. First of all, it has to be said that this sequel is not as great as the original; but it certainly is a very entertaining film and better than many of the rip offs. Franco Nero slips back into his old role superbly and director Nello Rossati provides enough violence and other distractions to keep things flowing nicely. The film of course focuses on Django, now a monk; having given up his murderous ways. That is, until his daughter is kidnapped by soldiers that use slaves to man a silver mine. Django of course goes after his daughter; but is captured and thrown in the mine. Not for long, however, as once Django makes his escape - a bloody rampage ensues.

One criticism I have of this film is the fact that it's not really a Western at all. Aside from the opening sequence, there's nothing to suggest that the film is set in the Wild West and I'd consider it more of a war set revenge thriller. That's not too important, however; the main thing is seeing Django tearing through his enemies with his trusty machine gun, and the film certainly does not disappoint in terms of the body count - which, of course, is massive. Unfortunately he doesn't drag a coffin around like he did in the original; although caskets are featured in a couple of scenes and Django does take to riding a funeral carriage! The lead villain is a general played by Christopher Connelly and gives the film a good antagonistic presence - some of his scenes being more interesting than the ones featuring Django! We also have a small role for the great Donald Pleasance. There's a few good scenes too; nothing as iconic as in the original, but overall this film flows well and I loved it for it's entertainment value. Django Strikes Again is recommended to Django fans.

This film is very interesting. Many people will scoff at it's production values, but when you consider it's era, it's really not that far off from its contemporaries. Many people make the mistake of comparing this movie to the Rambo franchise.

I suppose this is based on the way the Italians chose to market the film (with Nero with a headband and giant veiny muscles). But the more appropriate comparison should be with Arnold Schwartzenegger's "Commando".

In both films, a burly guy trying to forget his violent past has his daughter kidnapped and is forced to kill hundreds of ethnic stereotyped Hispanic folks to get her back. It's even got exploding guard towers and guys getting stabbed in Arnie "stick around!" style!!!

Hey, wait a minute … This is called Django TWO and it was made more than twenty years after Sergio Corbucci's original classic western. Haven't there been at least twenty other sequels in between? Well yes, but apparently this is the only "official" sequel whereas all the others simply cashed in on the popular name and/or image of lone gunfighter Franco Nero. Those darned Italians … they even steal from each other! There's usually one thing you need to know about belated sequels: they suck! Usually, that is, because "Django Strikes Again" is the exception to confirm the rule. It's a very solidly scripted and action-packed adventure that independently stands on its own as one of the greatest Italian movies of the 1980's. Director and co-writer Nello Rossati luckily doesn't come up with an easy rehash of the original, but brings an ambitious and convoluted non-western story with fascinating characters and even more firepower. Django is living a retired life in a monastery, but digs up – literally - his arsenal when a woman begs him to save his own daughter from the hands of the evil slave trader/weapon dealer/jewel robber "El Diablo". This Nazi-inspired madman is the ultimate cult movie villain. He lives on a battleship that is decorated with the decapitated heads of poor suckers that revolted against him, treats his female black household slave like a cheap toy and shoots innocent fisherman in the head for target practice! Anyway, Django is sent to a silver mine to work as a slave, but manages to escape (with the help of the ultra-cool and mega-versatile Donald Pleasance) and finds his old coffin. But this is a sequels and times have modernized, so Django doesn't pull an ordinary coffin behind him anymore but tunes an entire hearse! Go Django, still indescribably cool after 20 years of hiding in a cloister and pretending to be a monk! "Django Strikes Again" is a surprisingly great and stylish movie that doesn't even qualify as a western! The action is almost adapted to the typical 80's South American guerrilla settings, with slavery camps & torrid swamps. Django's hearse is tremendously cool and there are numerous memorable sequences, including the fight within the monastery and the attack on the brothel. Franco Nero looks just as handsome and acts just as cool at age 45 as he did at age 25, but this time he also receives much better and more professional support. The almighty Donald Pleasance is terrific as an enslaved Scottish entomologist whose brains are slowly getting affected by the continuous heat. Even better than Nero and Pleasance is Christopher Connelly as the truly and genuinely despicable "El Diablo". His villainous portrayal surely ranks amongst the best cinematic baddies ever! Connelly passed away shortly after the release of this film, at the young age of 47.

Following the release of Sergio Corbucci's "Django" in 1966, there were a number of movies that had Django in the title but had nothing to do with the original movie. But now comes an authentic sequel, with Franco Nero reprising the role of the crime-fighting westerner. Set many years after the original, "Django 2: il grande ritorno" -- "Django Strikes Back" in English -- has the title character now living in a monastery. But when a rogue general (Christopher Connelly) arrives and starts making trouble, Django digs up his buried machine gun and takes charge. And he's ten times badder than in the first movie! Admittedly, there was a lot of silly stuff in the movie. For starters, many of the Mexicans have accents and lines that appear to be based on Speedy Gonzales. But in the grand scheme of things, this is a truly fun movie! And I get the feeling that they had fun making it. Quentin Tarantino is apparently planning another Django movie. I'll be eager to see that one.