Sixty Minutes

Thought I'd try a new throw of review. Am halfway through and really enjoying it. Definitely elements of Old Boy and Victoria here, given the fighting and fk up missing his daughter's birthday premise, and real time unfolding of the story, albeit not one unbroken shot. But the lead guy is fantastic, he's really struggling here, physically and emotionally, and with ever increasing conflict his day is spinning out of control. And it's funny at times, without becoming facile or silly. And the journey through Berlin is accurate, he's just passing my flat now😾Will continue review when finished... It's great! The writers took SAVE THE CAT literally but in a very good way. They avoided most cliches and wrote something really quite lovely, and super entertaining, and you will not stop grimacing at the climax fight sequence, some lovely Korean cinema esque violence. But at its heart, and it has a big one, is the story of one man's mission to do the right thing for a change. And to put the confession scene in the mouth of the father was also clever. I loved this film and to redress one stupid 1 out of 10 review that seems based on racism I'm giving it 10. Bravo.

Saying that a movie is "not for the critics, but for the fans" means usually "I know I made a bad movie, but I don't wanna admit it". Nobody said it about 60 MINUTEN, but "for the fans" applies here in the best possible way.

This a movie for people who appreciate the ridiculousness of certain action movie tropes. People who are willing to laugh WITH the movie and not at it. It's pretty obvious that everybody involved here was on the same page. The movie's plot revolves basically around an unstoppable fighter who pisses off the whole Berlin underworld, because he can't miss his daughter's birthday party. And yet, it is all played completely straight faced and with the gravitas of a serious drama.

Apart from that, 60 MINUTEN also scores with really well done fights, full of long takes and impressive stunts, and a good semi-real time gimmick. I think they could've pushed the "What else is gonna happen to make him miss his deadline" angle a bit further though. On the other hand: They have an action movie that takes place in Berlin and have a fight in a bunker looking Techno club. They "understood the assignment", as the kids say these days.

Now don't get me wrong. As much as I enjoyed it, giving it 8 stars is for me a bit generous. It doesn't do anything innovative or outstanding. It is "just" 100% solid. BUT! It is German and Germans rarely have the chance to do action movies like that. So making one that can stand toe to toe with a good bunch of modern day US actioners is good enough for the prestigious 8 star rating IMO.

What I loved the most about this film was its homage to early race-against-time types of movies such as Taken and Kidnap, and its plot was centered around a likable protagonist that was relatable to watch. It held me by the neck even from the very start as it progresses into the action-filled chase scenes. These scenes were even tinged with emotional edges into it which made the film more than just an ordinary action flick. The way that the director centered the story around the protagonist and his dilemma (which ironically is a bit problematic because of his questionable abandonment of the fight) was smart because it emphasizes the greater conflict of the story.

An action film with decent, noble and not so strange desire to offer more than impressive fights and some tension.

A MMA fighter decides , in special circumstances, to be with his daughter in the day of her birthday.

Many and not easy obstacles. His determination, sacrifices and phonecalls .

And, in the skin of cliches and familiar situations, a story with few just nice sentimental sparkles.

Easy to judge it not just polite, its story works little more than decent, the acting is reasonable and the sentimental side not bad crafted.

So, not a wrong idea to see it , including the reserves about action films. Because, far to be memorable, it proposes a sort of life lesson, indeed, with idealistic touch and a lot of unrealism, at the first sight who , in large lines, has the virtue to reflect situation of many fathers, consequences of life between work and family , the responsability, evoked by his father, in short, maybe not exactly as pretext.

I'm almost surprised by how good this movie was. I had expected some action, and the premise wasn't new. It's a film in real-time, not unlike "Nick of Time" with Depp or the classic "Rope" from Hitchcock. Basically, the bulk of the movie is that the main character has sixty minutes to get somewhere and there are forces that don't want him to make it. The movie starts off, then the clock literally starts counting down and it's Go-Time.

Because the scenes have to move quickly it was almost surprising how much story unfolds through dialog and interactions. There is more going on in this movie than just a guy fighting his way across town.

The ticking clock adds an extra layer of tension and I found myself checking the time on my own clock, not just the run time of the movie. They really do line up pretty well, which is a huge credit to the editors. This isn't one of those movies where they have five minutes to defuse a bomb, but we cut to another scene that's ten minutes of dialogue.

It was stressing me out various points in the film. But, it's not a super involved plot, and yet it has some good character development. None of which I typically expect from films like this. Well worth a viewing.