Olsen Bandens sidste stik

The 14th and last film in the popular "Olsen-Banden" film series is a must see for fans of the series, but this film survives mostly on the fond memories of the earlier films. It´s 17 years since gang leader Egon Olsen was committed to a facility for the criminally insane. Here, he is brought on a Danish TV talk show to comment on the plight of elderly citizens. He is instantly recognized by fellow gang members, Kjeld and Benny, and the ol´ gang teams up for one final heist when Egon manages to escape. Sadly the gang must admit that they are not as fit as they used to be, but still manage to get into trouble. The cast is full of familiar faces from the series, and Axel Strøbye steals the show as "Jensen", and it´s nice to see Jes Holtsø (criminally underused as "Børge") but Kirsten Walther is sorely missed as "Yvonne".

Sadly, Poul Bundgaard´s real life health problems are all too apparent here, and he died during production, with half his scenes left to be filmed, leading to script changes, CGI magic and an unrecognizable Tommy Kenter standing in for the exterior shots. Tragically, director Tom Hedegaard, who was assistant director on most of the early films, died a week before shooting was to be completed. The remaining scenes were directed by Morten Arnfred. Cast veterans Bjørn Watt-Boolsen and Benny Hansen died shortly after the premiere. The final result is, while not terribly funny, still nostalgic and entertaining enough with a cast full of veterans doing what comes natural.

This is not how I wanted to remember the Olsen criminal gang: Kjeld is confined to a wheelchair, Benny has gone large (fat) as a house, and Egon is in a care home for the elderly and senile. This movie shouldn't have been made for the same reason I don't like to go to funerals, because I want to remember people how they were when they were alive. How they thought this image of the Olsen gang as old and crippled would revitalize the danish institution in movie history that is the Olsen gang, is beyond me.

This is only for fans of the serial. But if you are one of them, this is a must. In this the absolute final Olsenbanden movie, there is room for everybody. All the actors who used to be in the serial in the old days are represented here. That is if they haven't died yet. Kirsten Walther (Yvonne) died a long time ago. And since Poul Bundgaard (Keld) died during the filming, and Bjørn Watt-Boolsen (Bang-Johansen) just died yesterday (5/1 99), there will never be any more Olsenbanden movies. But even though this was not one of the best, I think it was a nice way to say goodbye to Egon Olsen. (And also to the actor Ove Sprogø, since this is supposed to be his last public appearance.)

As a gigantic fan of the 13 original Olsen-Banden films, I had to see this even though I had very low expectations. However, I knew 5 minutes into this film that even those were not going to be met. The script is horrible and has nothing in common with the original films. Erik Ballings magic as a director is missing. Yvonne, an absolutely essential figure, is missing. And Balling's replacement director Tom Hedegaard managed to alienate even the peaceful Ove Sprogøe, who is rumored to have told him: "Don't bloody tell me what to do! I know what to do!". On top of this, Hedegaard died before shooting was finished and then Poul Bundgaard died from a heart attack two weeks before shooting was over and had to be replaced by Tommy Kenter. All in all, this project should never ever have been even considered.

Or to quote Ove Sprogøe, who actually said this to the the press after watching the film: "Utter sh*t!". The only reason this gets 2 instead of 1 is because the original three actors are in it.

Save your money and time - this is dog sh*t!

A sad and pathetic ending to the franchise.

They were clearly too old to play their roles like they used to. When one of the leads died during filming the already weak script had to be rewritten, obviously affecting the end product in a negative way.

Finally, what used to be funny gags etc. had changed since the last movie. 17 years is a long time in comedy and The Olsen Gang just wasn't funny anymore.