A Gunman Called Dakota / Un uomo chiamato Dakota (Mario Sabatini, 1972)

[Mickey13]

Copied from the Spagvemberfest 2023 thread:

@Mickey13

All in all, it is somewhat tough to piece the narrative together inasmuch as large chunks of the movie seem to be missing, though on the whole, the motion picture does not really seem all that bad and the remaining bits offer some promise. With that being said, there is no disguising the fact that the flick belongs to the earlier stages of the genre’s development in that it blends some nasty violence with the rather formulaic, corny storyline relating the vicissitudes of the townsfolk grappling with the surge of violence inflicted by Gordon Mitchell and his henchmen. There is an undercover federal agent trying to get to the bottom of things which results in some tedious exchanges and tepid drama.

The movie considerably picks up in the second half the moment it desists from the lackluster dramatics and proceeds to pivot around the carnage and havoc wreaked by Mitchell and his men. The central role furnishes Mitchell with an opportunity to act which he does not fritter away, though his performance does not really coruscate and does not really diverge from what he customarily turns in, with that being said, he makes for a compelling enough antagonist. All things considered, there is nothing out of the ordinary here and a large portion of it may very well qualify as pedestrian, especially what with the rather middling direction, nevertheless, I believe some viewers could still get their kicks from the flick providing that it were presented in a properly restored version in the first place.