The film was described by Italian film critic and historian Roberto Curti as "a sequel of sorts" to Lenzi's 1976 The Tough Ones, with Maurizio Merli reprising the role of Inspector Leonardo Tanzi.

As soon as he is free, he assigns immediately two henchman to murder the inspector whose testimonial once led to his prison sentence.

But Tanzi defies him because he intends to make sure himself that Maietto is put back in prison.

[1] The Cynic, the Rat, and the Fist was distributed theatrically in Italy by Medusa on February 3, 1977.

[1] It grossed a total of 1,818,523,920 Italian lira on its domestic release in Italy, an amount Curti described as "very successful at the box office.