Rage

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.

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.

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.

With the name Tonino Ricci connected to this, one could be quite forgiven for initially fleeing in horror at the very prospect of sitting through it in its entirety.

Ricci is widely considered to be one of if not THE most consistently inept director working in the Italian film business and has the ignominy of boasting a long list of inane and poorly made action films to his name.

Having viewed a fair few of these undistinguished titles I would certainly concede that the allegations made against Ricci are mostly well founded; His works are generally mind numbing affairs containing lacklustre action and poor acting in addition to the conspicuous absence of anything remotely resembling plotting.

It was with this somewhat ominous factor in the back of my mind that I sat down to view the film in question here which stars Ricci regular Luigi Mezzanotte (billed here as he very often is as Conrad Nichols)

And my verdict? Well, much to my pleasant surprise it actually wasn't half bad.

OK so it's admittedly no masterpiece, it's obviously been shot on the cheap, the acting is hardly stellar and it's been entirely overdubbed throughout (despite the fact that the actors are clearly speaking in English beneath the dub anyway!!!) In fact this is unmistakably a Ricci made film, comprising a typically aimless storyline with plenty of his trademark padding to bump up the movies running time (in this case comprising our protagonists driving incessantly around in a jeep for most of the movies duration) But…….much like the same director's Thor The Conqueror (again starring Nichols) and despite its many flaws, this actually proves to be quite a watchable affair.

The post nuclear war story has Nichols, who stars as Captain Strike (what a cool name!), code name: Rage (what an even cooler name!!!) being hired by a group of fellow survivors (including Italian B-movie regular Werner Pochath) to obtain a stash of uranium which they desperately require in order to power their generators in this hostile and baron world. Rage reluctantly agrees to undertake the mission but the path turns out to be fraught with danger as he and his small group face various perils along the way in addition to being pursued by an old enemy named Slash (no, not the former Guns & Roses guitarist!) Cue some fairly decent action sequences and a surprisingly happy albeit sloppily conceived ending and you have an undemanding and mildly enjoyable watch for 90 or so minutes.

I must make special note of two things here which certainly up'ed the rating I have awarded this: One is an absolutely hilarious scene in which our hero's are beset by some radiation infected mutants. How is this hilarious you may well ask? Well as Rage is giving the attackers a jolly good beat down we are treated to what must surely rank as some of the most bizarrely inappropriate music ever put to any scene in any film – ever! The sensation of watching a violent sequence backed by some incredibly 'happy' sounding music proves to be almost surreal and had me in absolute hysterics.

The second point of special interest, and forgive me if this sounds at all sexist, but the female lead in this is a MAJOR HOTTIE!!!! Not only that, she dresses in tight denim shorts and a revealing vest for most of the movies running time! WHOA!!!

Ahem…..anyway to summarise, the film is certainly worth checking out if you have a fondness for the post nuke genre and is without doubt one of the more dignified highlights of its directors much maligned career.