Aka Policia De Narcoticos
( 1986 / Mexico )
Review by Paul Cooke
Director: Gilberto de Anda Starring: Valentin Trujillo , Rodolfo de Anda , Angelica Chain , Sergio Goyri , Julio Aleman & Bruno Rey Source : Mimi Co Ltd / Japanese NTSC VHS / Full Screen Presented / English Language Dubbed With Small Japanese Subtitles ‘‘When you shoot I want you to shoot to kill’’
A bloody spicy bowl of Action Nachos , Mexican movie mayhem style , explodes across the screen like an epileptic TV show condensed into ninety five minutes of low budget brilliance. Starring the Robert Blake of Mexican movies , Valentin Trujillo , this ‘Electra Glide In Blue’ cop from across the American border packs a punch , and it recurrently comes wrapped with a bullet blazing firearm.
Trujillo plays tough non uniform special cop Julian Carrera , teamed up with fellow officer Roberto Rojas , by their no nonsense police chief , to take down a ruthless mafia head. Carrera and Rojas are the hard-hitting counterparts of ‘Starsky and Hutch’ with Rodolfo de Anda playing the bad guy role character ironically named Antonio Farcas !. Huggy Bear he ain’t and to prove it he has a Mamacita that keeps his bed warm and the blood of his enemy’s cold !. Farcas sports the stereotypical Mexican mean moustache , and his killer babe a tight fitting short skirt that damn near shows off her very own top lip fur for the camera. Albina is her name and she is one mean bitch who takes unnerving pleasure in killing for her main man. Mess with this chilling chick and she’ll most likely slice off your balls and sew them to your lobes as a set of earring trophies !.
The world of mid Eighties Mexican Action is very similar to its American counterparts of the time , but here with an extra helping of red sauce and an attitude. Valentin Trujillo is pretty slick and unflinching in his tough guy role. He doesn’t give much away with expression but burning within is an explosive character hell-bent on serving up justice. Along with his partner Rojas he investigates a brutal trade in drug smuggling. One that involves a gang that prey on tourists , innocent folk that they kill in order to use their dead bodies to transport cocaine back across the border into America for big money. The sight of an abducted very young boy disembowelled and his stomach forcefully lined with the narcotics , to then be sewn back up , is pretty gruesome. The police know Farcas is behind the trafficking but have to prove it. A bizarre subplot plays out that affects both the police and the drug dealers as someone is killing the dealers , and it is strongly suspected that the killer is a police officer !. This off duty Angel Of Death , dubbed ‘The Executioner’ , sports a long dark coat and hat to hide his identity , along with a repeat action shot gun deftly put to decisive use with bloody outcome. To make Carrera’s life even more complicated his partner Rojas suspects him to be the killer !.
The two men clamp down upon the low life with their own brand of law enforcement , highlighted when they have to confront a lone hired killer who slays a restaurant full of people. Randomly mowing down dozens of people in an un-mitigating display of insanity the madman is cleverly cornered by Carrera and Rojas , as the two men work seamlessly as a professional unit to end the killers deliverance of death.
With his narcotics operations hit hard Farcas gets personal , sending his henchwoman hussy out to harm the families of the two law enforcers. Things get even nastier from here on in and the graphic violence heads right on into a final showdown as Carrera squares up to Farcas in an ice house. A classic Mexican standoff that is as resourceful of its surroundings as the showdown in ‘The Big Boss’ starring the legendary Bruce Lee. A bloody and brutal conclusion to what is a tough as nails no nonsense Actioner.
Overlook the pro forma dubbing and forgive the occasional burst of music that sounds ripped from ‘Dynasty’ and ‘Occupational Killer’ will make you want to order Mexican again. Star Valentin Trujillo is no stranger to the movie scene and has a back catalogue that on this performance is well worth seeking out. His character here , Julian Carrera , is also the main player in the earlier made ‘Un Hombre Violente’ , also from 1986. A cross between Dirty Harry and Paul Kersey from the ‘Death Wish’ series , Valentin Trujillo is a hard hitting hero stoically riding the crest of a Mexican movie wave.
Film : 3/5 Tough Trujillo’s Picture : 3.5/5 Tough Trujillo’s Sound : 3/5 Tough Trujillo’s Overall : 3/5 Tough Trujillo’s
© 2006 cinema-nocturna.com
