When
Alberto De Martino, the man who made the immortal turkey The Pumaman directs a
Godfather rip-off, you know you’re in for it.
Joe (Emanuelle in America) D’Amato was the director of photography. If only he had directed. At least there would’ve been some of his
trademark sleazy sex and violence to spice things up. As it is, The New Mafia Boss is one of the
dullest Mob movies on record.
Antonio
Sabato stars as a low-level gangster who gets hired to perform a hit on the man
who killed his father. He pulls it off,
but his boss tries to double-cross him.
Antonio figures out what he’s up to in time and is able to sidestep
getting rubbed out. He then goes to work
for a rival boss (Telly Savalas) who quickly comes to think of him as a son. The feeling doesn’t last for long.
The
New Mafia Boss is as generic and forgettable as the title suggests. It’s at its best when it sticks close to The
Godfather. The scenes where Sabato is
instructed how to kill a man is just like the scene in The Godfather where Al
Pacino is told how to rub out Sterling Hayden.
When it tries to do its own thing, its often a chore to sit
through. De Martino’s pacing is languid
(all the plotting and double-crossing in the third act gets dull fast), the
action is poorly staged (and sporadic), and the performances (with the lone
exception of Savalas) seem to be on autopilot.
AKA: Crime Boss.
AKA: The Mafia Terminator. AKA:
The Sicilian Mafia. AKA: Mafia Boss.
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