Well now, I found the single most boring and disappointing Poliziotesschi (Italian crime thriller) of the 70s. Little problem, though, I wasn't looking for that at all. Quite the contrary, I had reasonably high hopes that "Kidnap" would be a solid genre entry considering the contemporary relevant plot (namely: the kidnapping of a child of a wealthy family by a gang of thugs) and the involvement of veteran actors like Henry Silva and Philippe Leroy.
Alas... "Kidnap" is infuriatingly dull, with the slowest pacing I ever witnessed in any Italian film, pointless dialogs that seem to last eternally, and an anti-climax that is guaranteed to make your mouth fall open with amazement (of how lame it is, duh!). Despite the enormous potential, the script is completely devoid of action and suspense. Bloody shootouts, exhilarating car chases, brutal executions, relentless violence against vulnerable women and/or children, grisly torturing or extortion techniques... All the aforementioned are almost mandatory trademarks of the Poliziotesschi, however, "Kidnaps" features none of these.
It's particularly impossible to fathom how Henry Silva ended up in this inept and thoroughly inferior product. This awesome man starred in some of the genre's greatest outings, for crying out loud, like "La Mala Ordina" and "Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare". I, for one, can only assume that Silva must have gotten lost on the Italian roads in between two film studios, and ended up in a wrong one. That might have sounded something like this:
Henry Silva: Hi, I'm here to shoot another violent cop thriller.
Director: What? Err, I mean, welcome Mr. Silva! My name is Giovanni Fago and I'm the director.
Henry Silva: Are you sure? I don't know you, and I usually work with the best in the genre, like Umberto Lenzi and Fernando Di Leo.
Director: Yes, well, I'm an upcoming talent. Here's the script.
Henry Silva: What is this? There isn't any action in this film.
Director: Oh, we'll add action later, this is a first draft.
Ha! They sure fooled you, Mr. Silva! (dramatization! Did not happen)
