Lo spietato

La película entretiene, tanto por los gánsters como por el humor y, sobre todo, por Riccardo Scamarcio, que ha nacido para estos papeles. Pero en cuanto a la trama, se limita a copiar a Scorsese y lo de la cicatriz en la cara, pero no puede estar a la altura de su brillantez. Tanto la escritura como la dirección. Tampoco presenta la hipocresía de los valores de los personajes con la autorreflexión encantadora e irónica, aunque e seria, de los clásicos mencionados. (05.05.2019)

I expected a better show from the Italians here. Who else should be able to make a solid gangster film than them? I remember Riccardo Scamarcio from John Wick 2, where he played the mafia boss with elegance, and I can say that he was one of the better aspects of The Ruthless. I enjoyed the Italian setting and the different timelines with an otherwise older main protagonist, but the story didn’t really grab me. It was immediately clear that the film was trying to emulate the genre style of Martin Scorsese, but it often felt clunky. The dialogues were nothing special, and the supporting characters were rather lackluster. The finale fizzled out completely; I expected at least a climactic moment there, but unfortunately, it never happened. It’s not a total disaster, but I’m definitely not thrilled about it. For me, it’s 5.5/10. (16.07.2021)

A fine Italian gangster film set in the 80s reminiscent of the cult-classic Scarface. The film focuses on an ambitious rebel gang led by the perfect Riccardo Scamarcio (John Wick 2), showing in detail its rise. The film has a great retro vibe, is fast paced, has intense sex scenes, plenty of suspense and a tense finale, and although it doesn't reach the quality of Scorsese's films, it is still a decent effort. Fans of gangsters should definitely not miss it. 80% (26.05.2019)

As gangster movies go, it’s actually a pretty decent affair. Even though the part of the script that focuses on the gangster’s sex life could be cut short by a few minutes. But then it wouldn’t make much sense given the overall short length of the film. In terms of style, however, the 1980s are captured perfectly, with music, but also with cars. The Italians are definitely able to show the “dolce vita” in their movies. But we’ve still seen many similar films, and many times they were clearly better and more distinctive. Even though Riccardo Scamarcio is just the right type of charismatic guy you wouldn’t want to meet when he has a gun in his hand. (21.05.2020)