Antonio Sabato is Salvator 'Toto' Cangemi, a Milanese fruit and veg wholesaler whose more profitable sideline is prostitution. When French drug-dealer Roger 'The Captain' Daverty (Philippe Leroy) arrives on the scene, insisting that Toto uses his women to peddle heroin, a war breaks out and violence erupts. Toto's right hand man Lino Caruso (Antonio Casagrande) suggests bringing in his uncle Billy Barone (Alessandro Sperli),a gangster from America, to deal with the Frenchman, but in doing so, Toto faces further problems.

The general consensus seems to be that Umberto Lenzi's Gang War in Milan is not as good as his subsequent Poliziotteschi, Almost Human. I suspect the problem for many is that Toto, the central character, is every bit as unlikeable as those he is fighting against: he's a smarmy misogynist who treats women as commodities and will stop at nothing to maintain control of his business (whereas Tomas Milian in Almost Human was someone you could root for). Toto reminded me of Pacino in Scarface, but in my opinion that's not a bad thing: sometimes it's fun to watch a film full of characters with very few redeeming qualities battle it out for money and power, especially one that sees most involved get what they deserve in the end.

Unlike Almost Human, this film features absolutely no humour: it's a hard-edged crime film that delivers plenty of sleaze and brutality, much of the violence directed at women. It's gritty stuff and Lenzi, renowned for his gory Cannibal films, doesn't shy away from the violence. Toto's women are targeted by Daverty's henchmen, the ladies beaten, robbed, and killed. A prostitute has acid thrown in her face, and two are found mutilated in a car. But it's not all misogynistic brutality: in one harrowing scene guaranteed to have men crossing their legs, Lino is tortured with bare electrical wires applied to his genitals.

Lenzi keeps the action flowing nicely, with never a dull moment, and his cast are great, with Alessandro Sperli putting in a particularly fine, scene-stealing turn as Billy Barone, who puts a stop to the gang war once and for all in the predictable, but satisfying conclusion.

Antonio Sabato is the perfect mixture of smarm and charisma in the role of Salvatore "Toto" Cangemi. He's a big name in the produce business in Milan, but this is really just a legitimate front for what he really likes to do: run a prostitution ring. His troubles begin when a smooth French criminal, Roger "The Captain" Daverty (Philippe Leroy),starts putting the pressure on Toto to get into drugs. Toto is pretty peeved, especially when The Captain insists on pocketing most of the potential income. This leads to a war between Toto and his fellow Sicilians and the Frenchman and his gang, with some interesting twists and turns along the way.

It's amusing watching an amoral p.o.s. like Toto be the focal point of a solid, if unexceptional, Eurocrime story. You don't like him - he's misogynistic, for one thing - but he remains fairly compelling. In fact, in this yarn there are very few innocents, or characters with genuine rooting interest. Still, it's fun to watch as these not-so-honourable crooks figure out ways to mess with each other. The film has its moments of violence - like acid thrown in a face, or the mutilating of a breast - but in truth is not all that gory. It IS an entertaining exercise in sleaze, and fans of the genre will have cause to be reasonably pleased. It's very nicely shot in widescreen and given an atmospheric score by Carlo Rustichelli.

Sabato is ably supported by a rich gallery of European talent: Leroy as the drug kingpin, Antonio Casagrande as Totos' associate Lino, lovely Carla Romanelli as novice hooker Virginia, Alessandro Sperli as wise American mobster Billy Barone, Franco Fantasia as the Inspector tasked with fighting organized crime, Tano Cimarosa as the victimized Nino Balsamo, and sexy Marisa Mell as Jasmina Sanders, the woman who turns Totos' head.

Noteworthy as the first Eurocrime feature for Umberto Lenzi, who may be better known (at least to some North American viewers) for his horror films of the 80s, like "Cannibal Ferox" and "Nightmare City".

Trashy and politically incorrect, "Gang War in Milan" shows its audience a good time.

Seven out of 10.

"Gang Wars in Milan" is Umberto Lenzi's worthwhile and compelling imitation of "The Godfather" – in Italy during the 1970's this type of films got labeled as the "Poliziottesco" – about the rivalry and battle between Sicilian pimps and French drug dealers. The drug barons are putting severe pressure on the sly and sleazy Salvatore "Toto" Cangemi, who practically has a monopoly over the prostitution network in Milan, to have his hookers sell heroin. The greedy French wolves also demand 70% of the profit, so you can image Toto refuses. The "negotiations" rapidly run out of hand, with some car-bombs left, some drug labs getting destroyed right and a handful of prostitutes being mutilated center, and gradually escalate into a devastating gang war. So, basically, what I've learned from this film is the actual definition of a mafia partnership: they start a war over 20% and when they finally do reach an agreement, all they do is double-crossing each other! "Milano Rovente" isn't the most spectacular of Italian crime epics of the 70's, as there are reasonably few car chases and violent shootouts on display, but it's nevertheless a solidly scripted and professionally acted atmosphere-driven thriller. There are some excellent plot twists to keep you interested throughout and the bit of cruelty (especially towards women) are quite hard to stomach. The film may lack some essential Poliziottesco aspects, like a dazzling soundtrack and ultra-psychopathic characters, but it was definitely a terrific predecessor to Umberto Lenzi's ultimate crime masterpiece "Almost Human".