JasparLamarCrabb Alain Delon is a hit man looking to get out of the mob. The mob has other plans. Delon's family is obliterated & he seeks revenge, tracking mafia types throughout Europe. A fairly exciting crime thriller well directed by Duccio Tessari and featuring a great performance by Delon. It's the type of revenge thriller Charles Bronson was grinding out in the'70s, only this one has a lot more style. There are several outstanding chase scenes, some fairly brutal bursts of violence and a very unforgiving finale. The supporting cast includes Richard Conte, oily Umberto Orsini (he played a similarly sleazy role in VIOLENT CITY), Lino Troisi and Marc Porel. Carla Grava is terrific as a zonked out party girl and one of Delon's few allies. The music is by Gianni Ferrio, who composed scores for over 100 movies! NO WAY OUT (aka BIG GUNS) is a macaroni mafia masterpiece.

Milan Alain Delon is great as usual in the genre that fits him like a glove. Tony Arzenta, a Euro-crime action thriller is directed in style and in a manner of a true craftsmen. This is the first Duccio Tessari film I had a chance to watch, and I was mostly drawn to it by knowing what Delon plays best and that is Le Samourai type character, a professional in his emotionless job. In this one he is attached and detached and drives the story to the conclusion that wouldn't stand a New York minute in Hollywood factory of dreams. That's why I love him and Franco/Italian crime films. Highly recommended to all the fans of this genre. You'll enjoy it, no doubt.

zardoz-13 Alain Delon visits swift, sure vengeance on the ruthless crime family that employed him as a hit-man in the Duccio Tessari thriller "Big Guns" after they accidentally murder his wife and child. Tessari and scenarists Roberto Gandus, Ugo Liberatore of "A Minute to Pray, a Second to Die," and Franco Verucci of "Ring of Death" take this actioneer about a career gunman for the mob right down to the wire. Indeed, "Big Guns" is rather predictable, but it still qualifies as solid entertainment with lots of savage and often sudden killings. Alain Delon of "The Godson" is appropriately laconic as he methodically deals out death to the heads of the mob families who refused to let him retire so that he could enjoy life with his young son and daughter. Richard Conte of "The Godfather" plays a Sicilian crime boss who wants to bury the hatchet with the Delon character, but the rest of his hard-nosed associates want the hit-man dead. Like most crime thrillers in the 1960s and 1970s, "Big Guns" subscribes to the cinematic morality that crime does not pay. Interestingly, the one man who has nothing to do with the murder of the wife and son of the hero survives while another betrays the hero with extreme prejudice. Tessari does not waste a second in this 90-minute shoot'em up. Apart from the mother and son dying in a car bomb meant for the father, the worst thing that takes place occurs in an automobile salvage yard when an associate of the hero is crushed in a junked car. Ostensibly, "Big Guns" is a rather bloodless outing, but it does have a high body count for a 1973 mobster melodrama. Only at the last minute does our protagonist let his guard down and so the contrived morality of an eye for an eye remains intact. Tessari stages a couple of decent car chases and the death of a don in a train traveling through a train tunnel is as bloody as this violent yarn gets. The photography and the compositions are excellent.

The_Void The Italian crime genre owes a lot of its trademarks to Don Siegel's landmark cop flick Dirty Harry, but Big Guns appears to be cashing in more on the success of Francis Ford Coppola's landmark mafia flick The Godfather. Considering this film is called 'Big Guns', there isn't a great deal of gunplay; and unfortunately, a lot of the film is taken up by talking, which didn't really go down very well with me. This type of film is famous for its entertaining set-pieces, which often include car chases, gunfights and fist fights. There are plenty of car chases in this film, and many of them are very well filmed. The plot is not exactly original or groundbreaking, and simply focuses on a hit-man named Tony Arzenta, a man who had had enough of his mob life and decides that he wants to leave their employ. However, as anyone who has seen a mob film will know; these guys don't like people walking out on them, and the mob takes it upon themselves to ensure that Tony doesn't leave their employ alive. Naturally, this leads to a cacophony of violence.The film features a few faces that will be familiar to fans of Italian movies. Alain Delon is good in the lead role, and receives good support from the likes of Richard Conte (who starred in some of the best Italian crime films, including Martino's Violent Professionals), cult film veteran Anton Diffring, and one of my personal favourite actresses Rosalba Neri; who unfortunately doesn't appear for very long. The plot does feel a little tired, and while I mostly enjoyed this movie; it has to be said that there's better examples of the Italian crime film out there. I'm rather surprised that this film has received mostly positive reviews across the board as, generally speaking; the average vote for an Italian film is a few grades lower than mine! Still, while I can't say that I rate this film among the best of the Italian output - it's well directed and while I wasn't blown away; at least it isn't boring. Overall, Lenzi's crime films; as well as a choice few others such as Street Law, The Heroin Busters and The Violent Professionals, come recommended over this one; but Big Guns is at least worth watching.