Bomber (3½ Stars)

Bud Spencer plays the role of Bud Graziano, a retired heavyweight boxer. For years he was unbeaten, but after losing a match to Rosco Dunn he retired and went to live a life of obscurity as a fisherman in Pisa, Italy. Sometimes the past has a way of catching up with you. Years later he recognises Rosco on the beach in Pisa, because he's now a sergeant in a nearby American army case. The old rivalry flares up. They're both trainers in boxing clubs. Rosco has a few skilled boxers in his club, but Bud only has one boxer that he can rely on, a skilled amateur called Giorgio Desideri.

Bud sees the upcoming amateur title match as a chance to get revenge over Rosco, but Giorgio is bribed a large amount by the Mafia to take a dive in the second round.

This is a difficult film for me to rate. It's like two films stitched together. The scenes that take part in the ring are gruelling battles, with hard hitting punches that made me cringe. The scenes outside the ring are pure comedy, the sort of film that we're used to from Bud Spencer. I loved the comedy scenes, but I hated the boxing. I've never liked films about boxing. I can't say why, I just don't.

Maybe it's the realism of the boxing matches in films like "Bomber" that disturbs me. The fights looked genuine. In contrast, the fights that took place outside the ring were exaggerated and comical, like the fights in the Hercules TV series. Whenever Bud hit someone the person flew through the air. Fights like that are fun.

Maybe my readers will enjoy this film more than me. Watch it and make up your own mind, but only if you can understand Italian or German. The film has never been released in English.