Snabba cash - Livet deluxe

The original 'Easy Money' was an above-average thriller about an ordinary guy who gets involved with gangsters; the sequel basically re-hashed the same plot, but more cheesily. This third, hastily-bashed out film, is easily the worst of the lot, a thriller with an amateurishly complex plot and equally amateurishly simple acting, with a heavy reliance on flashbacks to retrospectively make sense of the story. The plot themes are only loosely connected to those of the earlier movies; the decision to turn killer Jorge into a romantic hero is a surprising one. Overall, this has a "straight to video" feel, and leaves the strong impression that the film-makers didn't know how to make a proper movie, couldn't afford it, or just couldn't be bothered. In any case, the discerning viewer doesn't need to watch the trilogy to its end.

And so concludes a Scandinavian crime thriller along the lines of other triptychs like Department Q and Pusher. I like these films because, in spite of their faults, they are still intriguing. Snabba Cash is no exception. I thought the handsome Swedish guy was going to be the main character but it turned out to be the Serb's daughter and the Spaniard. Who knew? Recommended? Sure, why not. Could've been worse.

Overall, a solid ending to a well crafted gangster trilogy. Joel K. only has a handful of scenes, which is the primary weakness in an otherwise nicely done film. I do want to read the books on which these films are based. And that is a good sign from my perspective.

This story is all over the place. It is horribly edited. Instead of moving forward in a linear fashion, each scene skips ahead and then retells the story with flashbacks over ominous music. The time frame throughout the movie is ridiculous. One minute dude is drunk on a beach on one side of the planet, the next he appears at the front gate on the other side of the planet. And where is Joel Kinnaman? His scenes are completely detached from the movie and he appears in like a total of 5 minutes of the movie. I don't know if the book is better, but this movie literally makes no sense. The only reason you will find it interesting is if you are vested in the first two movies so that you know the characters. But still it doesn't make it that much better. If you haven't watched the previous movies you will definitely be lost.

Outwith of the big budget heavily directed cinematic movies that clog up the cinema schedules, you'll find a good line of well produced and engaging films. TV box sets are all the rage, but there are still plenty of good films. The Easy Money trilogy is one of them.

I found this set of films by chance on BBC 4, and gave it a go. Each film gave me a good taste for more. What we have is a film centring round the underbelly of Swedish society covering drugs, crime, pimping, immigrants and wealth.

It's guns, it's gangsters and it's lowlife. Yet, it's more than that. It's a multi-threaded set of thrillers that leads us on a difficult and uncomfortable journey as we see the leads tip-toe around their peers, before trying to crush them. It's dark, it's grim and frightening, and very cynical in its outlook on humanity. Yet it's really honest and depressingly so, but that look feels like we are seeing a more honest view of the underworld. It's a fresh outlook that doesn't hide the truth.

The film is directed and shot in a very frugal manner, and this works. There is no glamour and it's all quite base. That's the hook to this fine trilogy.

I really wish there was more, but maybe halting at three films was the correct end for this. I was engrossed in following the characters in this set of films. It's one that I'll revisit, and one that I'd recommend most others to give a try to also.