Well Deserved Praise

The greatest movie ever made..!

A Major Disappointment

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

A no spoiler review for a film that is based on a true story, has a show and a book. I'm always weary of films that try to tell stories of multiple characters or of ones that span years or decades. This film tries to do both and fails miserably.There's just too much to say and not enough time. There are several problems with this film and it suffers from worst-of-both-worlds syndrome. It has too much story (like TV shows) but not enough time (like film). It has a bigger budget (than TV, $ per minute) but ends up looking like cheap TV shows (amateur production values, pretty boys as actors).The TV show is exactly the opposite. It looks cinematic (even though it's shot on 16mm), the actors are better cast (Libano looks terrifying, the minor gang members look like criminals), there's more time to tell the story (politics, communism, Aldo Moro, fascism, the state, Camorra).Watching the show first, I could barely watch the film. It felt so cheap, it gives the feeling of a 90's MTV music video, both cheesy and dated. The story goes by so fast, like a "previously on Romanzo Criminale" refresher at the beginning of a new season.The show is the story of the gang. The film looks like a trailer by how fast it goes.I rate the show 10/10 to the film's 4/10. The show is a world class series, Golden Age quality. The TV is an easily-forgettable anecdote in the history of Italian cinema.

This is a fictional crime story based on the exploits of the infamous "Banda Della Magliana", which terrorized the city of Rome for two entire decades. The movie is OK and it features an all-star cast and a famous director, but if you really want to see the same story brought to a much much higher level (not to mention going way deeper into the details), I strongly recommend you watch Romanzo Criminale The Series (two seasons of 12 episodes each), which is now available on Netflix, from other online sources and on DVD's.The "condensed" story line of the movie is at times confusing and fails to successfully put the story into its historical context. Really, two hours aren't nearly enough to explain the back story and the historical references, especially to someone who didn't grow up in Italy --and particularly in Rome-- in the 1970's and 80's. So, I watched the movie years ago when it was released, and I was left with so many open questions that were only answered to my complete satisfaction once I watched the series (and yes, there are some continuity issues between the two productions, so don't think of the series as complimentary to the movie but rather as a complete retell.) I know that I'm actually ending up reviewing the series here more than the movie, but really if you watch the series, then you will find that the movie is just a brief summary of the story without much character development, despite the more famous cast and director (incidentally, Mr.Placido is credited as a creative consultant in the series.) The series, on the other hand, is one of the best small-screen productions I've ever seen, really quite up to the level of outstanding crime dramas like the Sopranos or Breaking Bad. I would rate the movie 6/10 and the series 10/10.

... and by that, I mean a celebrated actor with a string of macho roles (Plachido's would be Corrado Cattani from "La Piovra") who becomes a director and makes well-crafted but unimaginative, by-the-book, predictable movies.In this category, "Romanzo Criminale" easily takes the cake from "Gran Torino", taking on board every cinematic cliché it can. I hope someone catalogs them all; let me get the ball rolling with (a) Prostitute With A Heart Of Gold, (b) Lyrical Hero Dying On Church Steps, Viewed From Above, (c) Lyrical Hero's Girlfriend Not Knowing About His Life Of Crime, Heartbroken But Forgiving, after (d) Lyrical Hero Writes To Her From Prison Cell Every Day, (e) Lyrical Hero Suffering From a Fatal Disease That Does Nothing To Reduce His Smoking Looks, etc.The reason that I remember Ice's story line best is that it's most heavily coated in cheese, and evokes the closest association with the films that "Romanzo Criminale" reminded me of - Russian "Brigada" and "Bumer". (Ice is a male-model version of Vladimir Vdovichenko's character in either). It can't be good when you see a 2008 film that feels derivative compared to a 10-year old Russian TV series, itself a cliché-ridden low-IQ wannabe. Oh Michele Plachido, why didn't you hire a real screenwriter? At least he did a great job on casting; the actors (and especially actresses - Anna Mouglalis, who has the more interesting role, is a stand-out) are all great, elevating a run-of-the-mill film to a higher level.

I expected this film to be a Pulp Fiction spin off or some mediocre crime drama with the usual shootings and token women thrown in. However, the film is excellent primarily because it focuses just as much on the complex relationships between friends and lovers, as well as the workings of the gangs themselves. Freddo and Roberta are one of the few convincing on screen couples, and the film is a great exploration of loyalties. The pace is slower than in most 'heist' type dramas but this works to its advantage. It is visually uncluttered and the music is not owepowering, so it really allows you to contemplate what the film is really about: love, loyalty, friendship. Whoever approaches this as just a film about a gang is missing out on a lot. I wasn't familiar with any of the actors before but they completely convinced me. Someone complained about criminals being too pretty in this film, but I have to say, it is only halfway through that I noticed that Freddo is actually quite attractive, as is Nero, but the film is structured and filmed in such a way that your attention is not immediately drawn to this. Rather you get to know the characters first, and only focus on their physical attributes second.