The success of the Trinity films put the collective star of Terrance Hill and Bud Spencer on the rise and as such, they spun off their antics into other genres in an attempt to keep up the interest in their work. One of these spin offs was 1976's Crime Busters, written and directed by Enzo Barboni, the man who launched the pair to stardom with 1970's My Name Is Trinity.

This time around, Hill and Spencer play Matt Kirby and Wilbur Walsh respectively, two out of luck goons who, after a pair of run ins with some dock workers, ultimately team up and plan to rob a nearby supermarket. Unfortunately, neither man is all that bright and they mess up their plot and wind up inadvertently enlisting in the police force. After some basic training where they learn how to shoot and how to dress like cops, the two hit the streets of Miami and do their worst to uphold the law. That's more or less it.

Along the way, we're treated to a few truly odd sub-plots – a bit with some stereotypical Chinese immigrants, a run in with a gang lead by a white guy named Geronimo who drives a hot rod, and early on a bit where Matt tries to get Wilbur thrown into an asylum – but they really don't matter. The movie exists only to highlight the pair's penchant for wacky slapstick antics and if you keep in mind that this really is the sole purpose of the film in the first place (plot very definitely comes second and logic is a mere afterthought) then it actually works in a retarded sort of way. This isn't the most intelligent style of humor and you can't go into it expecting dry wit or social commentary of any sort – this is the type of movie where a fat guy in a jacket that says 'JUMBO' on the back punches smaller guys and wrecks their car with a sledgehammer. This is the type of movie where when that same fat guy slaps someone on the top of the head we hear a gong noise. This is the type of movie where the smart aleck blonde guy grins like a buffoon from start to finish, regardless of what is actually happening in the movie at any given point in time. It's poorly written, not particularly inspired in terms of visuals, sets or direction, and it's too long at almost two hours in length.

But, and this is a big but, it's really hard not to have fun with this picture. Once it gets going, it is funny. Spencer and Hill will win you over, whether you want them to or not. This isn't their best picture together and it isn't on par with the better Trinity movies (for some reason the western setting suits them better than a modern day one does, or at least modern by late seventies standards) but they've got that sort of chemistry that you can't force and the two of them play off of one another's strengths very effectively and show a true knack for comedic timing. If you're able to not overanalyze the film and just enjoy it for the stupid buddy comedy that it is, you're bound to come out having had a good time. It's not a classic that you'll go back to time and again but it is a reasonably good natured and fairly harmless picture that sets out to entertain (and nothing more) and succeeds fairly admirably. The fact that lovely Laura Gemser (she of Black Emanuelle fame) has a supporting role as a sex pot named Susy Lee – one of the aforementioned Asian stereotypes - doesn't hurt things in the least either, but this is Spencer and Hill's show all the way, just as it should be.

Video:

Crime Busters is presented in a decent anamorphic 1.85.1 widescreen transfer that appears to be the correct aspect ratio for the movie. Color reproduction is strong and while there is some fluctuations with the black levels print damage never gets out of hand. Some mild grain and the occasional speck does show up on the picture but there's a fairly decent level of both foreground and background detail here. There's a little bit of motion blurring in some spots but other than that, things look surprisingly good here.