Review by chrichtonsworld

Black Out is a Dutch crime comedy a la Tarantino and Guy Ritchie.Which is one of the strongest points in the movie and at the same time could be seen as weak ones since some scenes are direct copies.In stead of heavily criticising or bashing like most Dutch viewers did I actually applaud this effort.Sure this is no masterpiece.But it is a huge step in the right direction.Copy or not,this movie will be appealing to a larger audience outside The Netherlands and in my eyes that is a good thing.The director Arne Toonen of this movie shows he has talent and skill.It's obvious he still has a lot to improve on craft wise but I have no doubt he will manage to do so.Using older experienced actors opposite a younger cast is almost brilliant.Too bad he did not make more use of them.Some characters were screaming for more screen attention.I am not entirely sure about Simon Armstrong as Vlad.He was interesting as the main villain.But somehow a little over the top compared to the others in this film.It would have worked better if more characters and scenes would have been outrageous and absurd as well.The film was begging for it.Yet it remained subtle and calm in places where excess was needed.Overall though I found this to be a very enjoyable experience and honestly think that Black Out (2012) deserves a little more recognition.