'Sabata' begins with a compelling exuberant country tune, in which people chant 'Ehi amico... c'è Sabata, hai chiuso!'. Exiting and snappy like only an Italian spaghetti western can be. Imagewise the same feeling for style and absurdity is present, there are some interesting shots with equally interesting camera angles. Soon Lee Van Cleef enters the picture.
So you think you're in for a treat. But, despite the obvious creativity and originality, it's not a very good movie and could have been a lot more fun than it is. Lee Van Cleef and William Berger give life to interesting characters, as you should expect. Sabata's a mixture of LVC's persona in For a few dollars more and James Bond and showcases inventive ways of killing people. Berger's fine as the enigmatic Banjo, who plays, well yeah, a banjo. The irritating Pedro Sanchez character and the ridiculousness of the Alley Cat character are something else.
But the real evildoer in this movie is the muddled plot. It's incoherent, drags and you never know when it will end. The movie is a bit longer than an hour and a half, but it certainly feels like a much longer movie.
But not to want to sound too negative, it's still fun to watch. There are enough interesting ideas and fine camera-work to get something out of it. Just don't expect it to be on the same level as any Sergio Leone movie.
So you think you're in for a treat. But, despite the obvious creativity and originality, it's not a very good movie and could have been a lot more fun than it is. Lee Van Cleef and William Berger give life to interesting characters, as you should expect. Sabata's a mixture of LVC's persona in For a few dollars more and James Bond and showcases inventive ways of killing people. Berger's fine as the enigmatic Banjo, who plays, well yeah, a banjo. The irritating Pedro Sanchez character and the ridiculousness of the Alley Cat character are something else.
But the real evildoer in this movie is the muddled plot. It's incoherent, drags and you never know when it will end. The movie is a bit longer than an hour and a half, but it certainly feels like a much longer movie.
But not to want to sound too negative, it's still fun to watch. There are enough interesting ideas and fine camera-work to get something out of it. Just don't expect it to be on the same level as any Sergio Leone movie.