Rising High

I noticed two different movie references that could possibly have inspired this plot, 'Catch Me If You Can' (2002) and 'The Big Short' (2015). Perhaps the only reference to 'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013) happend after 1 hour and 8 minutes.

This wasn't a bad movie. The german setting gives it a different energy, it's well acted and the story is well told. The rise and fall of the main character plays on different levels of his life and this makes him a character you come to know and like. But the movie feels like a long episode of a TV show. Nothing wrong with that ofcourse, but therefor I agree with the 5.7 rating here on IMDb.

I was very satisfied by this agreeable German comedy drama flick, whi other users seem not to appreciate that much. I have Always craved for rise and fall schemes. here this is pretty well done for my taste. i Don't need that much more to be pleased. The mechanism of all those scams is interesting. The lead character's sidekick, reminds me Gene Hackman in the sixties; I would have imagined him playing this kind of role in a performance of his early career. maybe because the German actor wears the same kind of hat Hackman had in FRENCH CONNECTION. But the scene of the crooks asking an old an to sign documents for an apartment, is one of the highlights of this film; the Gene Hackman double present at the same table is laughable; who would trust an estate agent in company with such a man, looking so much like a crook? I would never answer him asking about the time...ha ha ha

What is not to like about this film? I can't for the life of me understand the poor reviews. Yes, there is some exaggeration but the amount of things it manages to achieve in a mere 90 minutes is pure finesse and awe inspiring. Likeable protagonist, decent story, outstanding execution. I loved it. The energy is infectious and the music was amazing.

+ Music + Acting + 90 odd minutes of energy + Great viewing

This film tries hard to be something it isn't - good. It is a cheap version of Wolf of Wall Street, with mediocre direction, one dimentional characters and mostly bad acting. The main character is supposed to be a charismatic, sly and goodlooking Leo DiCaprio type of guy, but doesn't deliver on that. And don't even get me started on the script and the cringeworthy dialogues. Subtlety isn't this film's strenght. But then again, not much is.