Fred Williamson is a cop named Fox who is hired by the slimy J.T. (Chris Connelly) to go to Europe and bring back his niece Susan (Donna Owen). His search begins in Cannes and when the trail goes cold, it’s off to Rome where he finds her acting as a kept woman for Marco (Maurizio Bonuglia), a standard issue sleazy underworld type. Not long after he brings her home seemingly safe and sound, he slowly begins to suspect he’s been playing for the wrong side, so Fox sets out to make things right.
Foxtrap is very similar to the other cop action flicks Williamson was churning out in Italy throughout the ‘80s. Most of the running time is devoted to Williamson strutting around smoking a stogie while occasionally kicking the crap out of hired henchmen. These sequences aren’t staged particularly well, but they get the job done for the most part.
I did enjoy the scene where Fred hangs out at the Cannes Film Festival where posters for Witness, Cocoon, and Death Wish 3 are prominently displayed. It looks like one of those Joe Spinell/Fanatic type deals where he was already at the film festival, so why not film a movie? Too bad more of the flick didn’t take place there.
Fred is cool as always, but it’s Cleo Sebastian who steals the movie as Josie, Williamson’s girlfriend’s gay roommate who can kick ass when he has to. He even briefly joins Williamson on his quest for revenge and uses a fighting technique that can only be described as Ballet Fu. Little touches like this help to differentiate Foxtrap from Williamson’s other actioners of the era (like the interchangeable Black Cobra series) and gives the film a little bit of personality. Lela Rochon also pops up in an early role as Connelly’s moll.
Despite being a quirky effort for Fred, Foxtrap kind of runs out of steam before it crosses the finish line. The finale is underwhelming too, and it features a lot of scenes of clearly empty cardboard boxes getting shot up. All that aside, it’s an agreeable enough actioner for fans of Williamson.
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