UmbertoLenziisundoubtedlythekingofItaliancrimemovies,butunfortunately;SyndicateSadistsisnotthebestexam lesofhisworkinthisgenre.Lenzi’scrimeflickstendtobeacutabovetherestbecausehemakesfilmsbasedonstorieswitha oint,andtheydon’tlackdirection;butthisfilmfeelsabittoowaywardtofullyfitwiththerestofhisstuff.ThefilmtakesobviousinfluencefromSergioLeone’slandmarkwestern’AFistfulofDollars’(whichinturn,tookinfluencefromAkiraKurosawa’slandmarksamuraiflickYojimbo),inthatitfeaturestwowarringfamiliesandastrongcharacteratthecentre.ThecrimethatLenzifocusesoniskidna ing,andwecentreonacharactercalled’Rambo’.Ramboisdraggedintothewarbetweenthetwofamiliesafterhisbrotheriskilledbecauseofit.Rambouseshisbrainsandbrawnto itthetwofamiliesagainstoneanother,intheho eofgainingrevengeforhisbrother’sdeath,rescuingayoungboythatthey’vekidna ed,andultimatelylettingthetwosidesdestroyoneanother.Thefilm’sbiggestassetisundoubtedlyTomasMilian.Milianwas uttogreatusebyLenziinalmostallofhiscrimethrillers.Therangeofcharactershehas layedforLenziisimmense,andthisoneiseasilyoneofthecoolest.ThecharacteriscalledRambo,whichimmediatelys rangtomindthe o ularSylvesterStallonecharacter-butforonce,theItaliansactuallyhaven’tstolenthisnameasSyndicateSadistswasreleasedfirst!Asusual,thefilmiswickedlyentertaining,aswegettowatchMiliangethimselfinvolvedintheusualarrayofcarchases,shootoutsandbrawls.Lenzihasgothimridingamotorbikethistimeround,andeveryscenefeaturingitandMilianisarealstandout!However,thefilmoftenfeelslikeitdoesn’treallyhaveanywheretogo,andthismeansthattherunningtimeisstretchedoutmorethanitshouldbe.Com aredtothecrimefilmsofotherItaliandirectors,SyndicateSadistsismorethanaboveaverage;butinrelationtoLenzicrimeflickssuchasAlmostHumanandTheCynic,TheRatandTheFist-itdoesn’tstandtallasoneofLenzi’sbest.Still,ifyou’relookingforninetyminutesoftestosteronefuelledmayhem-SyndicateSadistswillsuffice