Dobermann

Crazy and fun and psychotic. Jan Kounen's high-octane Dobermann is a graphic novel come to life. Expertly directed, shot and acted. Every character is pretty much certifiable, and they exist in a world that is truly bats**t crazy.

Anarchic, and freaking excellent.

...but you more or less could have figured that out if you had taken a look at the film's trailer. What you may not be prepared for is the fact that the first 40 or 50 minutes of the film are surprisingly dull and far from action-packed. Things do pick up in the second half, and by the time we get to the final confrontation between Dobermann and the Nazi cop Christini (arguably the most repugnant cop in the history of movies) the violence finally has the kick that it should have had all along. (**)

Stylish, violent French thriller about some thoroughly unlikeable lowlife and the equally despicable policemen on their trail. In places, this film is original, funny and genuinely shocking, but there's not really enough here to offset the gun fetish.

The plot is simple, Dobermann and band of bank robbers are hunted by the police as they plan and execute a robbery. What they don't count on is that a crazed policeman is on their tail and will stop at nothing to stop them. The dialog is witty, the film making flashy, and the violence is brutal. So why don't I like this more? Lets face it this film exists simply to look cool and so the film makers could shoot things. The film looks great and the gunfights and the action sequences are mind blowing, the problem is that despite some witty dialog the film is rather dull when things aren't being blown up. I got to a point where I was reaching for the remote to get to speed to the next bit of action. Thats not a good sign.

Should you see this movie? If you like big action sequences with lots of guns blazing, absolutely. You might also want to check this out to see one of the great screen villains as represented by the crazed cop who is hunting the gang. He will stop at nothing to get his man including giving a grenade to a baby.

6 out of 10, great action and style takes the place of plot and character development.

People have compared Dobermann to Tarantino's stuff, but I think it's much more similar to Luc Besson's Leon / crossed with Baz Luhrmann's direction in the opening of Romeo & Juliet.

Great comic-book angles and poses, larger-than-life characters, comic-book violence, Prodigy soundtrack.. Brilliant stuff.

Very cool theme, and great CGI opening credits (worth a mention on their own). I couldn't work out why Tcheky Karyo says about 3/4 of his lines in accented English, but who cares.

It's uncomplicated, violent, stylish mayhem, and it's great.