Being a Poliziotteschi-buff and a great fan both of director Enzo G. Castellari and leading man Franco Nero, I still only had mediocre expectations for "Il Giorno Del Cobra" aka. "Cobra Day" of 1980. And while "Cobra Day" is certainly no masterpiece of Italian Crime cinema I have to say that my expectations were slightly surpassed, as this is a very entertaining film. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the pleasure to see the two foregoing Poliziotteschi from the director/leading man team Castellari/Nero, "High Crime" (aka. "La Polizia incrimine la legge assolve") of 1973, and the supposedly excellent "Street Law" ("Il Cittadino Si Ribella"/"The Citizen Rebels") of 1974, but I sure intend to. When "Cobra Day" was made in 1980, the heyday of the Italian Poliziottesco was already over, and the film does indeed not bring up anything new. Yet Franco Nero makes up for the lack of originality, and everything is delivered with style, even if some of the 'twists' are more than a bit predictable. Nero plays Larry Stanziani, an Italian private eye in San Francisco, who is sent back to his hometown Genoa by his former employer - the head of the narcotics department. Stanziani, who is nicknamed the 'Cobra', is to detect a homosexual drug dealer and murderer named Kandinski. Not only is Kandinski a ruthless criminal, however, he is also responsible for what earned Stanziani a three-year stay in prison, which makes the whole thing personal... As said before, "Cobra Day" delivers little that is new, but the good old formula is delivered stylishly. Nero fits greatly in his role of the slightly scruffy but tough and super-cool private eye. Sexy Sybil Danning makes a great female lead, and the cast furthermore includes the great late William Berger as the head of the narcotics department. The action sequences and photography are well-done and the film has a very cool and catchy theme song that proclaims: "I don't give a damn I am the Cobra". The teaming of Nero and Castellari sure has brought better films than this one (the awesome Spaghetti Western "Keoma" is just one of them),but this is not to say that "Cobra Day" is not an entertaining film itself. In case the expectations are not too high, this is a worthwhile and entertaining film, which I recommend to my fellow fans of Italian Crime flicks.

Like other Enzo Castellari - Franco Nero teamings, this is a case of a routine script directed with flair. Castellari stages plenty of energetic fistfights and chases, and Franco Nero brings some of the qualities that made him a cult favorite - his humor, his athleticism, and of course his accent (IMDB lists the language as Italian, but I think it was filmed, not dubbed, in English). The script, however, is strictly formula stuff; some of the twists I guessed (seriously, is there anyone who has watched even one Italian film before who couldn't guess the fate of Nero's innocent son?),some I did not (Sybil Danning's role turns out to be more important than it appears at first),but generally there is nothing here that you have not seen before. Except maybe for the scene where Nero fights a karate-chopping transvestite, but even something similar to this has happened at least once before - in the beginning of "Thunderball". (**)

The glory years of the Italian Poliziottesco (cop/crime thriller) were actually already over in 1980, but we gladly make an exception in case director Enzo G. Castellari and actor Franco Nero team up for another cult effort together. The luscious as always Sybil Danning addresses to Franco's character as Humphrey Bogart at one point, and a more accurate description I couldn't possibly give! At the start of the film, Larry Staziani is a sleazy San Franciscan private eye occupied with stalking unfaithful housewives and locating rich women's lost dogs, but he's called back to his home country of Italy to help arrest a homosexual super-criminal by the name of Kadrinksy (or something). It quickly becomes obvious that Larry also has a personal score to settle with this obscure individual, as his corruptness caused Larry's career downfall and even an imprisonment. Oh well, at least by traveling voluntarily to Italy to settle the vendetta, Larry re-earns his trademark nickname of "The Cobra". This primarily is a film to please Franco's many avid fans, and undeniably he's cooler than cool as the Cobra. He continuously bounces a little toy ball against the heads of his opponents, deliberately ruins millions worth of cocaine right in front of the dealers' eyes, sticks him gum on people's foreheads, slaps women in the face and yet still they throw themselves at his feet not even a mere two minutes later! Nero's vivid performance makes you forget that the plot is actually just mediocre and nothing you haven't seen a dozen times before. There are some occasional flashes of sheer eccentric brilliance, like the Cobra's Kung-Fu battle with a transvestite for example! The dialogs are fluently written and Nero receives excellent support from Danning, veteran actor William Berger and Ennio Girolami (the director's brother) as a sinister killer. There's a fair amount of action, though sadly nothing really sadistic, and the film comes the obligatory catchy theme song entitled "Don't Give a Damn, I am the Cobra". Hell yeah you are, Franco!