No Way Out

Yesterday I watched:

No Way Out (1973),

aka, Big Guns and Tony Arzenta.

Minor spoilers ahead, even though several synopses mention this anyway.

Tony Arzenta (Alain Delon) is a hitman for an international crime syndicate. He is very good at his job and he's been doing it a long time. He is however married to Anna (Nicoletta Machiavelli) and they have a son, so for their sake, he wants out. He goes to his boss Nick Gusto (Richard Conte, The Godfather) and tells him he is out. Gusto is not sure the other bosses will agree as Tony knows too much. To no ones surprise, they refuse and accidentally kills Tony's wife and son while targeting Tony. Tony, obsessed with a desire for revenge sets out to kill all the bosses.

If you think this sounds familiar, it is. Variations on the theme are common, including John Wick. The variation comes from whether the main character is a killer by trade and who exactly gets killed to spark the roaring rampage of revenge.

The plot in No Way Out is not actually very interesting in itself. You can pretty easily tell what is going to happen to whom very early on. There were a couple of minor surprises here and there, just enough to keep you guessing, but nothing out of the ordinary.

No Way Out is a French Italian production, set mostly in Milan and Sicily, but a good part is filmed on location in Copenhagen which was a neat change of venue.

With the plot being somewhat lackluster, what makes this movie interesting? The way it is filmed! No Way Out has some really good car chases / stunts and the overall cinematography is spectacular. I had to rewind a couple of times just to take in the shot composition, it is that good.

The other elements, like acting, music and so on are fine, no complaints, but for my money, No Way Out is worth watching just for how nice it looks. I will say that the characters are well written. Tony isn't an 80's action hero. He isn't bullet proof, he gets tired and the thugs he has to face are really nasty and despicable. There is nothing glamorous in any of the crimes being committed. It's all dirty and grubby from start to finish. On top of that, there are many faces familiar to fans of 70's cinema, including two who appear in The Godfather, Richard Conte who plays Don Barzini and Corrado Gaipa who plays Don Tommasino. Solid actors, no doubt about it.

So, do I recommend this movie? For fans of 70's action, yes. No Way Out is a bit slow at times but all in all it comes through as a solid and very enjoyable revenge story. Despite its pedestrian plot, it is well worth watching.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!