AdiosSabata

Adios Sabata (1971)

This is the 2nd of the Sabata films from director Gianfranco Parolini, but do yourself a favor and keep the events and characters from the first movie out of your mind. That is of course assuming you have already watched that one. This time around Sabata is played by Yul Brynner, who replaces Lee Van Cleef. Sabata signs on to help steal a shipment of gold to pay for guns. Guns that are to be used in helping the Mexicans fight their revolution against the Austrian Empire that is controlling their country. Of course the Austrian army has something to say about that, as do a few corrupt officials who are trying to make off with the Gold for themselves. If that weren’t enough even some of Sabata’s friends turn out to be crooked. All of this is resolved how most westerns are resolved, a big ass gunfight!

I really had a blast with the first Sabata movie and I suppose this one is okay. I do have some issues with it though. First up is the fact that it really doesn’t follow the first movie all that much. It isn’t just that they changed the actor playing the part, or that they switched up Sabata’s instantly recognizable gun with another odd but cool weapon. Nope what really threw me for a loop was the use of actor Ignazio Spalla as Sabata’s side kick. So far he has been in both this and the first Sabata movie. And in spite of being his sidekick he is playing entirely different characters! I also see he is in the 3rd movie which I have yet to watch playing yet another character… So needless to say I spent the first 30 minutes of this movie being utterly confused and irritated. This was only made worse by the fact that after a quick gunfight to start the movie Adios Sabata goes into this really slow spot where it tries to set up the story and introduce all the characters. So basically I was annoyed and confused while the movie was trying to set up the storyline. Though once I realized that they were pretty much ignoring the first movie and the bullets started flying I started having fun with Adios Sabata.

The movie really does pick up after 30 or 40 minutes and becomes a series of gunfights that are all staged very well and are exciting. I even had a few laughs with some of the costume choices as you have several gunfights between Sabata and his crew against what I think are supposed to be a bunch of civilians in top hats suits that are sympathetic to the Austrians. Maybe this is historically accurate, but either way it is goofy looking on screen. And as much as I enjoyed the gunfights this movie also feels a bit long. I’m thinking they could have done without a couple of the gunfights and trimmed the runtime to under the 104 minutes long it is now. That said the ending of the movie, which involves blowing up a bridge and stealing the gold again, is an excellent payoff to a movie that is at times confusing, repetitive, and entertaining.

So do I recommend Adios Sabata? Brynner is pretty good as the character, though I still prefer Van Cleef. There are a lot of killer gunfights, which is always good in a Western. But I still have issues with how confusing the movie can be at times. Also the pacing is off and the movie feels like it overstays it’s welcome. Though in the end I had fun with the movie. Another bonus is that all 3 Sabata flicks can be had on the cheap in a box set (picked mine up at Big Lots) and the first movie is worth the price alone. So I suppose if you dig Spaghetti Westerns and the price is right I would recommend Adios Sabata.

2 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer