review for Gambling City on AllMovie

Gambling City is an uneven but still fairly novel programmer from reliable Italian journeyman Sergio Martino. This film finds Martino applying his action thriller directorial chops to a story set in the world of high-stakes gambling. Unfortunately, the script's erratic sense of tone might put some viewers off: after a fairly fun first half, the story takes a darker, dramatic turn that culminates in a surprise ending that might be a little too surprising for its own good. Despite these key missteps, Gambling City remains an entertaining piece of work for Euro-cult buffs thanks to a game cast and solid direction. Stars Luc Merenda and Dayle Haddon make for a likeable and glamorous lead couple while Corrado Pani is a good, old-fashioned "hiss-able" villain. Also worthy of note is Enrico Maria Salerno, who brings a little more emotion out of his "tragic crime boss" role than one might expect. Martino places these performances in a slick, visually alluring framework that provides the right amount of decadence needed to sell the storyline (he also does some fine work with a head-spinning car chase near the end). All in all, Gambling City is probably too uneven for the mass audience, but it offers enough fun to please viewers with a yen for Euro-crime thrills.