Kauri

BELGRAVIAisthestoryofasecret.AsecretthatunravelsbehindtheporticoeddoorsofLondon’sgrandestpostcode.Thestorybehindthesecretwillberevealedinweeklybite-sizedinstalmentscompletewithtwistsandturnsandcliff-hangerendingsthatwillbedelivereddirectlytoyourmobile,tabletordesktopviaabrandnewapp.Youcanreadit,orlistentoit,orjumpbetweenthetwo.Setinthe1840swhentheupperechelonsofsocietybegantorubshoulderswiththeemergingindustrialnouveauriche,Belgraviaispeopledbyarichcastofcharacters.ButthestorybeginsontheeveoftheBattleofWaterlooin1815.AttheDuchessofRichmond’snowlegendaryball,onefamily’slifewillchangeforever...

马力安（阿纽林·巴纳德 Aneurin Barnard 饰）是一位十七岁的天真少年，某日，他的父母双双神秘失踪，留下马力安和弟弟菲利克斯（哈维尔·阿特金斯 Xavier Atkins 饰）过着相依为命的生活，然而祸不单行，菲利克斯遭恶人绑架，一时间生命危在旦夕。 马力安遇见了性格古怪的冒险家查瑞提（迈克尔·辛 Michael Sheen 饰），两人结伴，前往地处偏远的孤岛上拯救菲利克斯。在那里，马力安和查瑞提走入了一间神秘的旅店，一个神奇的魔法世界展现在了两人的面前，那里不仅蕴藏着珍贵的宝藏，亦存在着穷凶极恶的敌人和暴徒，最终，马力安能否成功解救菲利克斯，找到自己双亲失踪的真相呢？

Umberto Lenzi is undoubtedly the king of Italian crime movies, but unfortunately; Syndicate Sadists is not the best examples of his work in this genre. Lenzi's crime flicks tend to be a cut above the rest because he makes films based on stories with a point, and they don't lack direction; but this film feels a bit too wayward to fully fit with the rest of his stuff. The film takes obvious influence from Sergio Leone's landmark western 'A Fistful of Dollars' (which in turn, took influence from Akira Kurosawa's landmark samurai flick Yojimbo), in that it features two warring families and a strong character at the centre. The crime that Lenzi focuses on is kidnapping, and we centre on a character called 'Rambo'. Rambo is dragged into the war between the two families after his brother is killed because of it. Rambo uses his brains and brawn to pit the two families against one another, in the hope of gaining revenge for his brother's death, rescuing a young boy that they've kidnapped, and ultimately letting the two sides destroy one another.　　The film's biggest asset is undoubtedly Tomas Milian. Milian was put to great use by Lenzi in almost all of his crime thrillers. The range of characters he has played for Lenzi is immense, and this one is easily one of the coolest. The character is called Rambo, which immediately sprang to mind the popular Sylvester Stallone character - but for once, the Italians actually haven't stolen this name as Syndicate Sadists was released first! As usual, the film is wickedly entertaining, as we get to watch Milian get himself involved in the usual array of car chases, shootouts and brawls. Lenzi has got him riding a motorbike this time round, and every scene featuring it and Milian is a real standout! However, the film often feels like it doesn't really have anywhere to go, and this means that the running time is stretched out more than it should be. Compared to the crime films of other Italian directors, Syndicate Sadists is more than above average; but in relation to Lenzi crime flicks such as Almost Human and The Cynic, The Rat and The Fist - it doesn't stand tall as one of Lenzi's best. Still, if you're looking for ninety minutes of testosterone fuelled mayhem - Syndicate Sadists will suffice!