if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man (they sure don't make films with awesome titles like this anymore) is a poliziotteschi directed by none other than Ruggero Deodato, the man who would deliver two of the most uncompromising, relentlessly mean-spirited exploitation movies ever in 1980, namely the still notorious Cannibal Holocaust and the depraved sleaze-fest House On the Edge Of the Park. Deodato was a man who never shied away from extremity in his movies and so it was with some interest I went into this one, particularly seeing as the Italian poliziotteschi genre is one hardly renowned for its restraint or political correctness in the first place. Well, I think it would be only fair to say that Deodato has once again delivered a tough genre film, full of excessive violence. Except in this case, and unlike those two infamous movies I mentioned before, the fun factor is considerably higher here as the levels of mean-spiritedness are noticeably lower.Aside from Deodato at the helm, this one benefits enormously from having Fernando di Leo as its screenwriter. I think it would be fair to say that di Leo is the king of this particular sub-genre and has several outright classics under his belt as director. His input, therefore, is always going to be a significant bonus. It would probably be fair to say that the screenplay to this one is less thoughtful than the ones he used for his own films but it still nevertheless gets us from A to B in a highly entertaining fashion. This is one of many Italian cop films which followed the basic template laid down by the international hit Dirty Harry (1971), in that it features the use of brutal police tactics used to sort various low-life criminals out. Other Italian films used this idea, such as Umberto Lenzi's Violent Naples (1976) but where that film had one violent cop, this one has two! They go through the picture killing and torturing criminals, endangering the general public and indulging in sexist behaviour at every given opportunity. These guys work for the special squad section of the Rome police department and the film is basically made up of a number of different encounters they have with various criminals.Events kick off with no messing about with a great extended motorcycle chase through the scenic streets of Rome, later the boys use their special brand of force against violent criminals holding an unfortunate woman hostage in her home, they also take out a group of thieves before they can even attempt to commit the crime in question and later dispatch a variety of gangsters in a quarry shootout. In other words, this is good violent fun, poliziotteschi style. The manner that these cops deliver their unorthodox brand of violent justice is so casually delivered and at no point in proceedings does anyone truly question their methods, aside from the occasional light ticking off from their superior. But let's be honest, it's this complete lack of any political correctness whatsoever that is a significant part of what makes Italian cop thrillers such fun nowadays – they don't make them like this anymore that's for sure! If you could imagine a parallel universe where 'Starsky and Hutch' were nihilistic police officers who blow up cars on purpose, have threesome sex with suspects and break the necks of criminals for the hell of it, then it would be something not far off Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man. You've just got to love the Italians.

The plot has been explained well enough by the other reviewers. Porel and Lovelock are basically lower class James Bond homologues: pretty boy fashion plates who kill, screw and bully without regret, knowing they can do so because they're on the right side of the law. This leads to some entertaining sequences (the opening chase - in which they do not run over the guide dog, the villains do that, but they do zoom past the distraught blind man and just leave him to his fate, the quarry shootout, the prevention of the bank robbery, the hostage situation). But there's no real strength to the narrative, the heroes are astoundingly unlikeable and never taken wholly seriously. And they are incompetent at heart: the dud finale (which only works as a very ironic grace note) shows just how hopeless they really are at what they do. There's also the scene in which they interrogate the sister of the bad guy, and she voraciously forces them to have sex with her, leaving them totally exhausted. The violence is rough and cruel, yet the gore is lessened because the blood is of the thick red paint variety so beloved of early 1970's filmmakers. Also, one bad guy is shot through the head from behind and has a larger exit wound than usual (nothing too extreme though), but when he tumbles down there is no entry wound at the back of his head... Not a classic, not really enjoyable, but a movie with a few effective/cool scenes which would work well in a best of- compilation.

"Uomini Si Nasce Poliziotti Si Muore" ("Live Like A Cop, Die Like a Man") of 1976 comes from two of the most brilliant minds in Italian Exploitation/Cult-Cinema. Written by Fernando Di Leo, whose brilliant Milieu-Trilogy ("Milano Calibro 9" of 1972, "La Mala Ordina" of 1972, and "Il Boss" of 1973) ranges among the greatest achievements crime-cinema has ever brought forth, and directed by Ruggero Deodato, whose gruesome 1980 masterpiece "Cannibal Holocaust" is one of the grittiest, most controversial and most brilliant Exploitation films of all-time, this film raises high expectation with Italian crime fans. These high expectations make it even more disappointing that this film is actually one of the least entertaining Poliziotteschi out there. In spite of a well-known cast - Ray Lovelock ("Almost Human", "Violent Rome", "Autopsy", "Living Dead at Manchester Morgue",...) and Marc Porel ("Don't Torture A Duckling", "Seven Notes in Black") in the leads, Adolfo Celi ("Diabolik", "Thunderball") and Marino Masé ("The Red Queen Kills 7 Times", "Il Boss") in supporting roles and the sexy sisters Silvia and Sofia Dionisio in the female support - this flick has little to offer.Porel and Lovelock play Fred and Tony, two special forces policemen whose unorthodox methods include executing criminals on the spot and blowing up cars and illegal casinos... I am a huge fan of the 'unorthodox cop' premise and the politically incorrect messages of Italian 70s Poliziotteschi in general. Cops like those played by Henry Silva in Umberto Lenzi's masterpiece "Milano Odia: La Polizia Non Può Sparare" ("Almost Human", 1974), or Maurizio Merli (in any of his Police flicks) would relentlessly bend the law and treat criminals brutally, but at least the sadistic thugs in these films had it coming. Murdering wounded criminals for stealing handbags, as Fred and Tony do here, seems a little extreme, even for unorthodox Poliziotteschi standards. Generally, the two protagonists are total dirtbags whose deeds are actually a lot worse than those of the criminals they pursue. Besides that, they are cocky and annoying, and constantly crack painful jokes. Are we supposed to sympathize with these scumbags? The two sleazy and sadistic protagonists are actually what makes this worth watching, however, as it is astonishing how these guys can be portrayed as heroes. The film has several terrific action sequences, and is furthermore worth watching for several ultra-violent outbursts. However, the story is incoherent and uninteresting, and the lack of a truly evil villain makes the whole thing seem pointless. The score is very below par and unmemorable for genre-standards (usually, Italian 70s Crime flicks are known for their great scores). Overall, there's a lot better to watch in Italian Cime cinema, such as Di Leo's brilliant trilogy, any film by Umberto Lenzi (especially "Milano Odia..." and "Roma A Mano Armata"), any film by Damiano Damiani, or Enzo Castellari's "Il Grande Racket", just to mention a few highlights. "Uomini Si Nasce..." may be seen for its grit and violence, but can easily be skipped.

I recently picked up the DVD which sure as heck looked a thousand times better than my cruddy old foreign videotape. While this film is not nearly as boring as I'd remembered, it's still one of the lesser crime films (despite 3 or 4 awesome moments like when they shoot a guy just minding his own business reading the paper).The total lack of suspense, immediacy, or likable characters ruins it... there is virtually no plot and not enough random crime to keep it interesting. The film relies too heavily on the nonexistent charisma of its two leads, who both look good but don't really say or do much except act cocky and shoot people.Usually I really like Ubaldo Continiello's work, but his music here is a real letdown and virtually missing-in-action except for the theme song (sung by Ray Lovelock)... which is one of the worst songs ever! It's almost comically bad! Pay attention during the opening credits of the shot where Lovelock is riding with Porel on a motorcycle - watch how Lovelock is trying to get his face on camera, but Porel keeps blocking the way - Lovelock gradually becomes visibly angrier and angrier. It's completely hilarious.Highlights of the film, typical of any Deodato movie, are the well-directed and inspired moments of violence and sleaze. Nothing near the level of his cannibal masterpieces, but still pretty heavy for the genre. Such scenes include a savage beating of a woman overly protective of her purse, a hit-man getting smushed between two cars, and an amusing bit where several bank robbers are killed one-by-one by the "heroes" before they even commit their crime. Also unique is the heroes' brazenly irresponsible attitude toward gun safety (such as when they target practice in the quarry) and totally politically incorrect womanizing. The ironic atmosphere and dark humor helps a little, but not enough.Within this genre, you're much better off with Castellari and Lenzi's numerous offerings. Fulci's CONTRABAND is similarly dull and unengaging but much more violent and mean-spirited, and an overall better way for fans of this stuff to spend their time and money.