Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hardcore action-thriller tests the limits of cinema, 25 Aug 2004
DOBERMANN
(France - 1997)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Super 35)
Theatrical soundtracks: Dolby Digital / DTS
A psychotic police detective (Tcheky Karyo) pursues a gang of armed robbers led by the ultra-charismatic 'Dobermann' (Vincent Cassel).
A colossal one-fingered salute to the bland, homogenized pap dominating international cinema at the time of its release, DOBERMANN not only set debut director Jan Kounen on the road to cinematic glory, it also helped kickstart an aggressive upsurge in ultra-commercial European cinema (the 'Taxi' series, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, CRIMSON RIVERS, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, etc.), begun two years earlier by Mathieu Kassovitz's equally subversive LA HAINE (1995). Fans of political correctness need not apply: DOBERMANN is loud, excessive, obnoxious and morally ambiguous in equal measure, and while some viewers may be unable to reconcile themselves to the action and violence of Kounen's raucous worldview, others should cling onto their seats and prepare for the ride of a lifetime...
As the above plot synopsis attests, Kounen and scriptwriter Joel Houssin (upon whose pulp novels the film is based) have stripped the plot down to its barest essentials and constructed a series of instantly recognizable character-types (saint, sinner, braggart, dimwit, etc.), thereby liberating Kounen to indulge his true objectives: To push the boundaries of cinema to their absolute limits. DOBERMANN is a swirling tornado of audiovisual delights which unfolds via shock cuts, hurtling camerawork, loud explosions and in-yer-face action set-pieces, a heady mixture of Hollywood gloss and Hong Kong stuntwork ramped to the max. You want subtle? Try Merchant Ivory. THIS movie wants to gouge your eyes out!!
The cast is toplined by French superstars Cassel and Monica Bellucci (they married in 1999), playing the antihero and his ultra-loyal partner in crime, and they both manage to carve a niche amidst the film's visual excesses, while Dobermann's misfit gang includes Stephane Metzger (MAUVAIS GENRES [2001]) as a beautiful drag queen who supports his loving, unsuspecting wife and family via prostitution. But the movie is stolen clean away by Karyo as the deranged cop on Dobermann's tail, a vile piece of work who's prepared to break every rule - legal and moral - to bring his nemesis down. Karyo's lack of restraint culminates in a horrific sequence in which - amongst other things - he invades a birthday party and reveals Metzger's drag queen alter ego to the younger man's horrified, clueless family. The scene is cruel and uncompromising, but Kounen isn't interested in queer-bashing a sympathetic character, merely demonstrating the moral corruption of Karyo's villainous detective; the drag queen is written and played with quiet dignity, and Metzger's ultimate 'fate' is both amusing and redemptive...
Houssin's scenario builds to a frenzied showdown in a fancy nightclub, where Good and Evil are forced into a final confrontation that explodes into noisy, censor-baiting violence. You have been warned! In fact, the script's antisocial attitude is perhaps a little TOO crude and excessive in places, but the director signals his intentions late in the film when a drug-addled gangster uses pages from ultra-posh movie magazine 'Cahiers du Cinema' during a visit to the toilet! Tired of adhering to the established confines of critical acceptability, Kounen and his production team have fashioned an instant cult classic, one which defies convention and spits in the face of diplomacy. Acting and technical credits are top-notch throughout.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Only Europe could produce such fun, indulgent action, 4 Jan 2004
This is a comic book action film, and therefore you should not expect anything but cheap, shallow escapism. However this is done so well it becomes a guilty pleasure, it is so exaggerated and with such style you can;t help but revel in the action. Fundamentally the glossy, stylish, exciting camerawork of Kounen leads the film into two truly fantastic performances from the leading anti hero and 'evil' copper, played by Vincent Cassel (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Irreversible, Elizabeth, L'appartement, La Haine, Crimson Rivers, Shrek) and Tcheky Karyo (Bad Boys, Nikita) respectively. Monica Belucci is sexier in Dobermann than in anything she's starred in since.
America cannot touch this kind of action film, because irony at it's own shallowness is a pre-requisite for true unburdened enjoyment. Very few US action films have this, rarity's like Tim Burton's original Batman movies are the exception. The overblown characterisations can wear thin at times, but all in all the film doesn't take much investment and leaves you smarting at just how cool it is. The violence is par for the course, and all in all Dobermann is a slick, well budgeted, exercise in visual indulgence.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bang! Bang! Bang!, 9 Aug 2004
Hardcore japanese action spectacular, cross-bred with typical french class and style. This film is a brash and unashamed cops 'n robbers caper, with the dials all turned up to 11. Guns and cars, grenades and transvestites, you can't go wrong with Dobermann. Cassell is, predictably, a star act and very watchable, once again encapsulating a role and yet remaining Vincent Cassell. As the anti-hero leader of a gang of seriously crazy bank robbers he lights up the screen with his blase cool. Belucci had never been sexier, and Karyo is one bad mother as the cop on Dobermann's case. At once a film that will keep your head spinning with the non-stop action and occasional twist, as well as making your spine tingle with the awesome violence dished out by, and at, all and sundry. Just don't take it seriously. top fun.
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