Recent years have seen many iconic actors return to iconic roles; Bruce Willis returned as John McClane, Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones and Sylvester Stallone returned as Rambo - but before all of them, Franco Nero returned to his most iconic role for Django Strikes Again - the only official sequel to Sergio Corbucci's 1966 classic Django. First of all, it has to be said that this sequel is not as great as the original; but it certainly is a very entertaining film and better than many of the rip offs. Franco Nero slips back into his old role superbly and director Nello Rossati provides enough violence and other distractions to keep things flowing nicely. The film of course focuses on Django, now a monk; having given up his murderous ways. That is, until his daughter is kidnapped by soldiers that use slaves to man a silver mine. Django of course goes after his daughter; but is captured and thrown in the mine. Not for long, however, as once Django makes his escape - a bloody rampage ensues.
One criticism I have of this film is the fact that it's not really a Western at all. Aside from the opening sequence, there's nothing to suggest that the film is set in the Wild West and I'd consider it more of a war set revenge thriller. That's not too important, however; the main thing is seeing Django tearing through his enemies with his trusty machine gun, and the film certainly does not disappoint in terms of the body count - which, of course, is massive. Unfortunately he doesn't drag a coffin around like he did in the original; although caskets are featured in a couple of scenes and Django does take to riding a funeral carriage! The lead villain is a general played by Christopher Connelly and gives the film a good antagonistic presence - some of his scenes being more interesting than the ones featuring Django! We also have a small role for the great Donald Pleasance. There's a few good scenes too; nothing as iconic as in the original, but overall this film flows well and I loved it for it's entertainment value. Django Strikes Again is recommended to Django fans.
One criticism I have of this film is the fact that it's not really a Western at all. Aside from the opening sequence, there's nothing to suggest that the film is set in the Wild West and I'd consider it more of a war set revenge thriller. That's not too important, however; the main thing is seeing Django tearing through his enemies with his trusty machine gun, and the film certainly does not disappoint in terms of the body count - which, of course, is massive. Unfortunately he doesn't drag a coffin around like he did in the original; although caskets are featured in a couple of scenes and Django does take to riding a funeral carriage! The lead villain is a general played by Christopher Connelly and gives the film a good antagonistic presence - some of his scenes being more interesting than the ones featuring Django! We also have a small role for the great Donald Pleasance. There's a few good scenes too; nothing as iconic as in the original, but overall this film flows well and I loved it for it's entertainment value. Django Strikes Again is recommended to Django fans.