First I have to say that I honour the director's attempt to create a hard hitting gangster "epic", if you could call it that. Second, I have to admit they failed. Here's why: The film is brought forward in the trailer as an action movie, but the trailer contains almost every action scene! And the action sequences weren't special in any way. Poor action design, simply. The budget wouldn't allow more spectacular events, of course, but I have seen directors pull off far more impressive action with only tenth the budget (El Mariachi anyone?).
It bothers me that when a crime epic undergoes treatment in Norway, they manage to toss in practically EVERY mafia clichè ever filmed. I really hoped they'd settle for something intriguing and original, not just the usual gangster mechanics seen a billion times on the silver screen already.
The acting is OK, but many performances borders on sub-standard... No one really excels and that is disappointing as you're watching the tedious plot lines play out over the screen as common deja vus.
Hadn't I been informed of this before I saw the film it probably wouldn't nag me at all: The main character's voice is DUBBED! Seemingly for qualified reasons, but horribly executed. The protagonist is a medium sized man, however he has the voice of a TITAN. If they couldn't cast a better lead, then why on earth would they dub him with such a terribly fake voice???
A lot of elements bugs me in this film, but one of the main shockers is that the bad guys don't age a day! We're introduced to them at the start of the picture as the young leads meet them by the railroad tracks. When we zoom 10-15years (don't remember exactly) into the future we meet the same bad guys. If the crew at least had TRIED to do some age altering make-up on these guys, it would be forgivable. But when a director doesn't have an eye for such "details", he doesn't qualify as a "master of his craft".
If you want to see a film so predictable as rain hitting the ground, go ahead, but you're probably better off wasting those 2 hours chewing gum instead...
It bothers me that when a crime epic undergoes treatment in Norway, they manage to toss in practically EVERY mafia clichè ever filmed. I really hoped they'd settle for something intriguing and original, not just the usual gangster mechanics seen a billion times on the silver screen already.
The acting is OK, but many performances borders on sub-standard... No one really excels and that is disappointing as you're watching the tedious plot lines play out over the screen as common deja vus.
Hadn't I been informed of this before I saw the film it probably wouldn't nag me at all: The main character's voice is DUBBED! Seemingly for qualified reasons, but horribly executed. The protagonist is a medium sized man, however he has the voice of a TITAN. If they couldn't cast a better lead, then why on earth would they dub him with such a terribly fake voice???
A lot of elements bugs me in this film, but one of the main shockers is that the bad guys don't age a day! We're introduced to them at the start of the picture as the young leads meet them by the railroad tracks. When we zoom 10-15years (don't remember exactly) into the future we meet the same bad guys. If the crew at least had TRIED to do some age altering make-up on these guys, it would be forgivable. But when a director doesn't have an eye for such "details", he doesn't qualify as a "master of his craft".
If you want to see a film so predictable as rain hitting the ground, go ahead, but you're probably better off wasting those 2 hours chewing gum instead...