Crime Spree

If you are familiar with both American and French culture, this movie is hilarious. If you are not familiar with the frog culture, you won't get all the jokes, but there should be enough jokes left to enjoy yourself seriously. This is one very well-made crime-comedy. The movie does not suffer from overacting and the jokes are not laid on heavily. The actors are superb and seem to have had a great time making this movie. The script is intelligent and funny.

Let me explain one joke for those who are not familiar with French culture: during the bar scene in Paris, the Johnny Halliday and Renaud characters (they are popular singers in real life) repeatedly switch off the other guy's music to play their own recording. And I was impressed by the way they played tough criminals. Good acting !

On a personal note, this movie was a very nice surprise for me, who have lived in France for many years and speak French fluently. I had picked up the DVD in the video store only because I saw Harvey Keitel's name on the cover. The title did not mean anything to me and I did not bother to read anything else on the cover. Harvey Keitel was enough assurance the movie would at least be OK. Then the movie starts in total darkness, with some people whispering. At first I did not understand what was said, as I was expecting to hear English, but no, they spoke French. And for the next 10 to 15 minutes, it was a French movie set in Paris. I was sure they had put the wrong DVD in the box, but I did not mind so much as I found the movie entertaining. Then of course the action moved to the USA...

A crew of fairly inept French burglars are given one last chance to impress their boss by pulling off a jewel robbery in Chicago. To help (or hinder) them, they are given the support of a couple of less savoury hoods and an incompetent Algerian. What follows is almost as predictable as the above might indicate - but not, I'm glad to say, without some quality laughs.

Crime Spree is NOT an excellent film. The script is flawed (the stolen car from the latin gang is a woeful subplot); the acting is too laid back at times and, as has been said below (on Jan 6th 2004), the director often can't decide on the cinematic style he prefers. But let's be balanced here - the director of this film is only as inconsistent as his above detractor. I mean - anyone who thinks the saving of the girl in the hallway is stolen from The Untouchables is being majorly tenuous and then to neglect to mention that De Palma actually (and totally) stole his particular scene from a much earlier movie is not really playing the game. By all means love or hate films - but don't force flawed arguments on those who disagree with you. Please.

The muffled phone sex scene is funny; the ariel shot of Marcel blasting his way through the hotel is excellent; the death scene of one of the gang members is poignant and the styles and verities that work serve the film well. It's not excellent cinema but it is amiable and of a welcome, off-beat quality that deserves appreciation and more respect than some might wish it. Then again - that's just my opinion. Each to their own.

I picked this up in Poundland expecting very little except that the word 'crime' in the title got my attention, and I'll watch any type of heist film. It was past one in the morning when I saw it, and I considered going to bed instead, then, after watching the first few scenes of the 95m movie (it said 84m on the box) I thought I'd watch half of it today and the other half tomorrow but it kept me watching till the end, occasionally laughing out loud. Comedy caper films nearly always fail. The Italian Job is over-rated. Don't even get me started on public-school- educated Guy Ritchie's films. But any fan of Donald Westlake's Dortmunder books, in which a hapless crime planner is saddled with a team of non-starters and has to extricate himself from increasing complications, will see that this is the best Dortmunder movie the late Westlake never wrote. The only successful Dortmunder adaptation was How to Steal a Diamond in Four Uneasy Lessons (also known as The Hot Rock). All the others failed to a lesser or greater extent. Despite the predominantly French tone, and the minimal characterisation of Depardieu's character (Dortmunder is usually silent, unless complaining, anyway) this is what a Dortmunder adaptation should be, even though it isn't. Not a great movie, by any means, with too many respectful nods to Tarantino (surely the greater influence here, and not Ritchie?) but a very watchable one that keeps you wanting to know what happens next. Wayne Newton's (yes, that's a man singing) 'Danke Schoen' is used to great effect.

I was just expecting a forgettable action/comedy farce to help me waste an evening. Crikey, was I surprised.

True, it begins 100% goofy, and by outward appearances it would seem like a brainless romp. Most of the gags are delightfully predictable. But as things unfold, the story, acting and outcome become increasingly intense, giving you much more than what you bargained for. Plot & character development is excellent, and you find yourself locking in with even the most trivial side characters. The plot itself doesn't fully materialize until the 2nd half, but that's the charm of the movie - that somehow all these seemingly random vignettes will converge on a single climax which it does brilliantly, explaining everything & closing the story in an unexpectedly intelligent way.

Some of the camera shots were really artistic, particularly the hotel chase scene through the different rooms (you just have to see it). Some of the gags were riotously funny--but you have to remember that this is a dark comedy, so a lot of these gags revolve around a surreal atmosphere of death & violence. Don't worry, though, the director purposely avoided gratuitous shots of blood & guts, opting instead for a more fairytale type of violence which fits perfectly.

THE MUSIC IS AWESOME. Lots of old school swing tunes which are delightfully ironic in a modern-day gangster film like this. Keep your eyes (& ears) out for the suspenseful Sergio-Leone-like showdown at the end where the suspense hinges not on guns or action but instead on what song is about to play on the jukebox! Again, it's hard to describe; you just gotta see it.

With its fast-paced yet smooth style, this film reminded me of Francis Veber's outstanding comedies ("Le dîner de cons", "The Valet" or "Les fugitifs" which also starred Gerard Depardieu), and in terms of comedic style it is much like the great gangster comedy "Suicide Kings" with Christopher Walken. Indeed Harvey Keitel's role in this film is much like Walken's in Suicide Kings; in both cases it's pulled off with a dark, menacing charm which will give you both chills and chuckles aplenty.

It's the oldest cliché in cinema, but this movie is the very definition of "fun". Stick around for the outtakes during the closing credits, and it's pretty obvious that the cast & crew had as much of a blast making this movie as you'll have watching it.

I have to say I've been a frequent visitor of the IMDb and I cannot believe some of the comments said about this movie. Rather than judging this movie by how funny it was, they try and find little problems that they can come and complain about. I honestly feel this was a good movie. There was many bad movies made in Canada, but this is not one of them. Maybe it was because I didn't expect much, but I laughed really hard and have been talking about this movie for quite some time now. It far exceeded my expectations, therefore, for those who want to watch a good and funny movie, I definitely recommend it. I gave it an 8 out of 10. And for those who gave this movie a below 6 rating, I think you should alter your way of rating a movie.