Matteo and Simone - imitators of the successful spanking champions Bud Spencer and Terence Hill
After the phenomenal audience success of the brawling duo Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, copycat productions quickly emerged that tried to emulate the success of the original. This phenomenon has already been observed in other genres of the Italian film industry.
Matteo and Simone - played by the Italian actor Antonio Cantafore (who a few years earlier also made bella figura alongside the German international star Elke Sommer in the Mario Bava classic "Baron Blood") and the American actor Paul L. Smith - were The duo was most clearly modeled on the great role model Hill/Spencer. There had already been a few films with the two of them when Giuliano Carnimeo took over the direction of this Italian-Spanish co-production in 1975.
The plot is told quickly. Completely burned out, Matteo and Simone (who are called Toby and Butch in the German dub - for whatever reason) are forced to take on every job they can. You are tasked with driving a truck and its load to Marseille. On the way, without being informed, they are supposed to be attacked by four small-time crooks (their leader is played by the American actor Dominic Pinto, who plays his role with a wild grimace). This regularly fails because the two warriors know how to defend themselves. On the way there are crazy chases that end with the four crooks wrecking their car so much that it is split into two parts. When they arrive in Marseille, there is a violent fight in an underground car park, in which Matteo and Simone beat up the four crooks and an accomplice who were waiting for them there, to such an extent that the four are subsequently left with significant injuries. Of course, the gangsters can't take this disgrace and so they plan a counterattack.
Before that happens, Matteo and Simone treat themselves to a cozy evening in the pub. Of course it can't end without a good fight. For no reason at all, the bullies dismantle all the furniture and leave behind a pile of beaten people.
The revenge action of the damaged small-time crooks goes so wrong that they find themselves together in the ambulance. In a showdown on a ship, Matteo and Simone beat up the main crime boss's remaining henchmen. One of these is played by the Spanish actor Fernando Bilbao, who two years earlier had played one of the two main roles in the beating film "Two Great Dogs in Hong Kong". At the end of the film, Matteo and Simone go to Africa, where they should experience further adventures in the next film "Four Fists - Hard as Diamond".
This brawler is one of the less successful works of the genre. This duo's chemistry doesn't work. The spark can't really jump over. The beating scenes are sometimes quite funny, but a lot of it also happens off camera. The image material also does not correspond to any particular quality. You won't find award-worthy scripts in spanking clothes anyway, but this one is particularly bad. The main problem, however, is that there is simply not enough charm and humor.
Only recommended for absolute spanking enthusiasts!