Luc Merenda gets a chance to actually act instead of running around shooting people before getting the chance to run around shooting people in yet another Eurocrime film from Fernando Di Leo.This time round he's a poor mechanic widower whose only reason for being is his son Dave or whatever he's called. Dave is friends with Bert, the son of rich property magnate James Mason, and when both kids end up getting kidnapped, Luc goes mental and James Mason bizarrely treats the whole thing like it's some sort of business deal and tries to give the kidnappers the run-around. There's also the added complication of who is behind the kidnapping and the not so great efforts of the police to get the two boys back. When James Mason drags his heels far too much, enraging his own wife, the kidnappers select one of the kids, put a pillowcase over their heads, and execute them. Guess who's kid that is? After quite a convincing scene of being confronted with the corpse of his son, Luc vows vengeance, packs a sandwich, and goes off hunting the kidnappers. What's different about this one is there's not much action for the first half of the film, which concentrates more on the contrasting parenting skills of Merenda and Mason while providing an insight into a crime which was really becoming a problem in Italy at the time. The various reactions of the actors when Merenda's sons corpse is revealed is the highlight of the film, from the frustration of the up-to-then-humorous cop to Mason's barely contained guilt. Merenda gets to cut loose here as well and display more emotion that he's usually allowed to show (e.g. punching, glaring, smoking - manly emotions for man films). The two kids are quite close and Merenda's son is a bit more robust is in attitude to the kidnappers, which gives his death a bit more impact. So there you go - a Eurocrime film that focuses on current affairs, with a bit more characterization than usual. Don't worry though - although the gun play and car chases are still there, near the end.

I won't add much more if you compare with what said the other users. Yes you have to deal here with a brilliant Italian crime flick, which shows us that cinema from the other side of the Alps may be terrific when it dares to. This story of a double abducting involving two children: a poor and a wealthy one, with then the confusion about their family, the poor and the rich one reminds me another little underrated gem named GRACELAND with almost the same scheme. This very one is not so usual among crime movies. GRACELAND was very narrowly released and made in the Philipines. That's all what I will say about it. Interesting films that are not so common these days. The feature from the Philipines are from 2013 although.

Of all the multi-talented Italian cult directors of the 60's and 70's, Fernando Di Leo was the one who pleased us with the best and most adrenalin-rushing crime thrillers. His most famous "Italian organized crime" trilogy (existing of "Caliber 9", "Manhunt" and "The Boss") is downright brilliant, but Di Leo also made a number of flicks that are a lot less acclaimed but at least equally terrific and revolutionary. This "Kidnap Syndicate" is arguably his biggest hidden gem and I'm enormously grateful to the good people over at the Nocturno label for releasing the film in a splendid DVD-format. Cult collectors all around the world: if you come across ANY movie released by this label, never hesitate for one second to pick up a copy!!"Kidnap Syndicate" is a lot less turbulent and 'in-your-face' explosive than the average Italian crime flick (usually revolving on rough unorthodox coppers chasing relentless criminals), but there's a strong focus on character drawing and story elaboration. Colella is a hard working but struggling mechanic who solely raises his son Fabrizio ever since the wife passed away. The boy is friends with Antonio, son of the extremely rich but incredibly repugnant businessman Filippini. When criminals kidnap Antonio in front of school, the brave Fabrizio tries to prevent this and the nervous kidnappers pull him into the car as well. They demand a huge ransom for the boys, but the pigheaded Filippini refuses to give in to criminals and put the lives of the boys at stake, whilst Colella and even the police commissioner can't do anything. The kidnappers eventually prove their seriousness, and the statement is obviously made via the "poor" child. Colella goes after them, but soon stumbles upon a very complex and well-protected network. The first half is, as to be expected, very talkative and with a vast emphasis on melodrama. There are some truly powerful sequences, most notably when practically the entire cast of characters literally begs Filippini (magnificent, though extremely ungrateful role of the brilliant James Mason) to stop playing with the lives of innocent children and just pay the damn ransom. The second half offers some bona fide Italian hard- boiled action, with wild car chases and grim, graphically shown executions. It's terrific how Colella purchases his targets, but also simultaneously humiliates and provokes them. His character is probably the vigilante/avenger that you sympathize with the most. The climax could have been a bit better and more imaginative, according to me at least, and I'm missing a more memorable soundtrack. Other than those minor remarks, "Kidnap Syndicate" is a truly exhilarating Italian cult film that I'm glad and proud to have seen.

This is a really great Italian crime/revenge movie. Two kids are kidnapped: a rich man's child and a poor man's child. The rich man decides to try and haggle over the ransom, which causes the kidnappers to kill the poor man's child to make their point. From then on, I was rooting for the dad to go get those jerks!!! Great chases and action, totally entertaining.