Angel of Evil - The Story of an Enemy of the State

After the French "Enemy of the State No. 1" and the life story of terrorist "Carlos", now comes the Italian public enemy, "Angel of Evil" to our cinemas, directed by a man who should know a lot about organized crime. For as an actor Michele Placido once fought "alone against the Mafia" in the role of Commissario Cattani. His gangster epic, which traces the "career"of Renato Vallanzasca, does not aim to be a documentary retelling, but a thriller inspired by true events. But real thrills just won't happen in this film.

Since childhood, Renato Vallanzasca (Kim Rossi Stuart) has moved in shady circles and quickly proves his leadership nature. But when he is arrested in his early twenties for robbing an armored car and sentenced to years in prison, his criminal career seems to come to an abrupt end. But Vallanzasca does not give up so easily. After four years in prison, he manages to escape and from then on he and his Comasina gang cause fear and terror. Bank robberies, murder and bloody rivalry with the gang of Francis Turatello (Francesco Scianna) quickly make Vallanzasca the public enemy number one. However, when he and his men try to secure another lucrative foothold through kidnapping, the police tighten the noose around the gang dangerously.

The big problem with "Angels of Evil" is that there have simply been too many similar stories told more excitingly and better in the movies, as well as on television, in the recent past. Sure, lead actor Kim Rossi Stuart delivers a first-rate performance and the many supporting actors, which include Moritz Bleibtreu, are also convincing. The story itself is also intriguing and fascinating in its own way. However, Placido simply tries to fit too many episodes from Vallanzasca's gangster career into two hours, so that not only many events but also most of the characters can only be treated superficially.

As a result, viewers are left relatively indifferent to the fate of most of the characters, as it is made impossible for them to form any real emotional attachment to them. This is especially true of the women in Vallanzasca's life, who, although they take on a very important role in the overall context, are only marginally made clear. Perhaps the whole thing could have unfolded better and more engagingly as a longer mini-series on television. But as such a compressed ride through events, the film eventually just comes across as tedious.

"Angel of Evil" is certainly not a bad film. The actors alone are too good for that. But the story of a charismatic gangster should also be able to convey to the viewer why there is such fascination from this character. And unfortunately, Placido doesn't really succeed in doing that. Therefore, an interesting story and good actors don't make a really good movie. But despite all the weaknesses "Angel of Evil" is just worth seeing for lovers of gangster biographies with cutbacks!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp