Street Law Review

If the sequels to Michael Winner’s Death Wish show, it’s that if anything the original didn’t go far enough. Before the Charles Bronson vehicle was even out of theaters, Italy’s action maestro Enzo G. Castellari (1990: The Bronx Warriors) and top action star Franco Nero (Massacre Time, War of the Planets) were already picking up the ball in this follow-up to their feature High Crimes.

Street Law (Il Cittadino si Ribella) is raw and violent from the very first frame, continues on through a tense bank hold-up, and then takes us along with hostage Nero on a wild car chase. Having pumped up the adrenaline level, Castellari keeps things rocking along, with even the slower paced scenes of Nero learning to become a vigilante crime buster maintaining a high level of visual energy.

Nero (apparently doing his own dubbing for the English version) is a bit wooden here, but does a good job maintaining his intensity as he gets in on the violence himself. The issue of whether he’s becoming as bad as his prey, and the question of whether or not society breeds this kind of violence, is not forgotten. Only the loud theme song is a complete embarrassment.