Don't listen to the negative reviews

Beautiful, moving film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The comments largely have it right, though not always the right conclusion. Many said, "not the usual revenge flick", and a few of the less sentient commentators dissed Franco Nero's performance. Put it all together and that's precisely why this gets 8/10 from me. MUCH better than anything Charles Bronson did, and I think better than a lot of the Spaghetti Western "revenge" movies. Nero's character isn't invincible. He's not even very good at it. But that gives it a realism that owes more to Italian horror films than to the westerns. Perhaps that's why Barbara Bach is in it. Could have changed her name...Very much a period piece, if it seems a bit much at times, you need to read up on what Italian society was like when this was filmed. A strike every other day, a bombing on the off days, petty crime rampant, sex drugs and rock 'n roll everywhere, police on the take, mafia shakedowns about anywhere, kidnappings, extortion... If you're not going to make a primo revenge flick in that milieu, I guess you never will. The Italian title is more descriptive. "A Citizen who Rebels".

Street Law (1974) ** (out of 4) Italian crime flick has Franco Nero playing a man who walks into the post office one day and ends up getting kidnapped by the men robbing in. The three bad guys severely beat Nero and although he survives the ordeal his hatred just grows when the police refuse to help him. Soon Nero is entering the underworld to try and locate the men so that he can seek revenge. Considering this was released just three months after Charles Bronson's DEATH WISH, I'm really not sure how much of an influence the American film had on this one but the end result here just didn't work for me. I really love vigilante movies and I had heard so many good things about this one but there was just a few minor problems I had with the picture and one big one that really turned me off. My biggest problem with this film is that the Nero character is just so downright stupid that I really fell off his band wagon and in fact I started to cheer for the bad guys! I mean, really, how many stupid things could a person keep doing without someone finally knocking him off? Obviously the character doesn't know what he's doing but after doing one silly thing after another I finally just gave up. Another minor problem I had with the picture is that at nearly 105-minutes long, there's way too much dry space where nothing is happening. A major editing job probably would have done wonders for the picture. I should add that the English dubbing didn't help matters either but this isn't the fault of the film. I found the performances to be among the good things in the picture. Nero is certainly believable as the simple man and you can also believe him when he's finally had enough. Giancarlo Prete nearly steals the film as the man who is forced to get Nero information and I also enjoyed Barbara Bach in her role as the girlfriend. The only thing that really keeps STREET LAW viewable are some of the hilariously bad moments including the opening credits sequence, which shows various crimes being committed. The highlight of the picture has to be the entire sequence in a junkyard where Nero is forced to outrun a car!

Cagey, hard-working, obstinate no-nonsense scientist Franco Nero gets kidnapped during a brutal bank heist by a trio of vicious, nasty crooks. The hoods severely pummel Nero, take him along for a wild, harrowing car chase, and leave Nero forever scarred psychologically by the distressful experience. When the police prove to be ineffectual, Nero decides to go the Charles Bronson "Death Wish"-like enforce the law on your own self-proclaimed keeper of the peace vigilante route, teaming up with genial, helpful illegal arms dealer Giancarlo Prete in order to exact harsh revenge on the vile, untouchable low-life criminals who regularly get away with preying on decent, law-abiding folks.An unexpectedly potent little crime/action potboiler, "Street Law" manages to be both utterly arresting and extremely hard-hitting thanks to its bang-up execution and accomplished technical polish. Under Italian B-film ace Enzo G. Castellari's typically strong, punchy, expert direction the compelling, convoluted and twist-ridden narrative unfolds in a most suspenseful, exhilarating and wickedly dead-on manner. Moreover, the gritty, smoky, squalid and threatening big city urban cesspool environment seems authentically grim and grimy, the cool, driving, harmonica-tinged rock score really hits the socko sonic spot, the brisk, starkly lit, sinuous cinematography gives the movie an excellent slick look, and the ferocious, rousing, often quite jolting action sequences -- Castellari's use of strenuous, gut-wrenching slow motion is incredibly effective -- deliver one hell of a strong and lingering punch. Better still, Nero contributes his usual top-notch performance, Prete is surprisingly likable as a conscience-plagued miscreant who yearns to go straight, and beauteous brunette Barbara Bach registers well as Nero's concerned, caring girlfriend. Why, "Street Law" even comes complete with a provocative, gruffly unsentimental, yet profound moral: Revenge is anything but sweet -- and it almost always comes with a highly serious and painful price to pay. Resolutely tough-minded and unusually complicated, with a suitably bleak tone and a pungently brooding atmosphere, this coarse, crackling, thoroughly gripping and exciting hard-edged vengeance crime thriller sizes up overall as an absolute powerhouse.

Taut and cynical thriller with a good pace, throbbing soundtrack, decent cinematography and not a little bloody violence. Very much of the times this is a somewhat depressing tale of ruthless criminal activity and police corruption.The not so pretty side of 70's Italy brought vividly to the screen with a workmanlike performance from Franco Nero and little more than sweet innocent looks from Barbara Bach.In fact a little more involvement from the ladies would have made this that much more enjoyable but if it's non stop chasing and shooting done with some style you are after this is certainly your number.