If you are also a fanatic worshiper of the Italian Poliziotesschi genre of the 1970s, then "Stunt Squad" is an absolute must-see. Within its type, it's nothing short of a masterwork! The film is lesser known, perhaps because it doesn't star Maurizio Merli or because it wasn't directed by either Umberto Lenzi or Fernando Di Leo, but it features all the awesome characteristics, and even many more (see further in review).
In an unspecified big Italian city, the crime rates are going through the roof. There are violent protection rackets, bomb-attacks, bank robberies, drug cartels, and a disturbingly high number of cop-killings. All criminal activities link back to one central figure, the immensely cruel and relentless gangster Valli. Due to the negative media reports and public opinion, Commissioner Grifi is finally authorized to complete his stunt squad project; - a special team of motorcycle cops allowed to rid the streets of crime through unorthodox methods.
In all honesty, the titular Stunt Squad isn't too impressive, or even that spectacular. Despite their guerilla training and careful selection, the squad certainly isn't the wild bunch of derailed police hoodlums I hoped for them to be. Bad guy Valli, on the other hand, is definitely one of the meanest and most revolting villains in the history of the Poliziotesschi! Top cult-actor Vittorio Mezzogiorno depicts him as a stone-cold, emotionless, power-mad, and downright psychotic gangster who terrifies the police, the public, and even his own henchmen. Marcel Bozzuffi, as the persistent Commissioner, but it's undeniably Mezzogiorno who makes this an unforgettable action/thriller.
And there's another thing that differentiates "Stunt Squad", and we have writer/director Domenico Paolella to thank for that. The script is much more focuses on suspense and the depiction of victims' agony than the majority of other contemporary Poliziotesschi flicks I've seen. The brutal murder in the hospital, for instance, is so carefully built up and atmospheric that it could come straight out of a splendid Giallo by Dario Argento or Sergio Martino. The climax on Bus 29 is another masterclass example of nail-biting tension. And there were most Poliziotesschi flicks simply go for fast-paced and non-stop images of violence, "Stunt Squad" also features brief moments to zoom in on all the misery this violence is causing. When Valli hits a random car during a chase and it rolls over, the camera stops for a second to show the harrowing impact on its female driver. There are close-ups of all the innocent victims of the phone bombings, and even a sad sequence at the funeral of a cold-heartedly slain policeman. Unique details like these, plus another fantastic score by Stelvio Cipriani, make this (to me, at least) one of the very finest entries in an already overall fantastic genre.
