Dobermann

Starting off with a slow scene at the baptism of Dobermann, whos real name is Yann, it then takes you on a action-trip to hell - and never back!

The first 30 minutes of the film have super-cool editing, but then the story gets overhand (which is good) and the shooting starts to slow down... When the bank-robbing-action is at it's best, the suspense and high-quality filming really is unique. At the final scene the shoot-out is grotesqly well done and can only be compared to early John Woo-Hong Kong flicks... Nothing made in the US can compare to this truly adorable movie. Maybe KILLING ZOE may compare in violence, but not in acting...

The scene when Yann and his girlfriend is talking with sign-language only is one of the best scenes in this movie - even though it has no action, no words and only a humming noice...

Nice movie that should be seen only by those who can stand grim action that looks real. It's a hard movie to watch for some people, but it has great qualities, very nice filming and spectacular direction and editing! Watch out for some nice laughs as well... if you have that sick dark kind of humor, that is... :-)

9 out of 10!

Dobermann is a movie about losing control. And it is probably the most violent movie one can rent at the videoclub. The violence is raw and both the cops and thieves are psychos.

A lot of scenes are very strong. Like this one where a cop is eating his sandwich while watching a pimp beating a hooker...

Don't be fooled by people who say that this movie is a copycat of 'Natural Born Killer'. Such comments are sadly narrow-minded. Dobermann is a chef-d'oeuvre and does not relate to any other movie. It is indeed very stylish and does no try to lecture the spectator.

"Dobermann", effectively, is a movie with no live characters in it. Not one.

What it does have is walking cartoons. Two-dimensional and blatantly unbelievable ones (e.g the psycho preacher, straight out of a 60'ies spaghetti-western). That, and bloody mayhem!

The set-pieces, (a bank-robbery, a shoot-em-up in a nightclub and the final car-chase) are excellent for those who like their action-movies splattered with gore and a loud techno-track. Beware, though, there are stretches of boredom in between. Of special note is the grossly unpleasant scene where Christini tortures "Sonia"'s family. It includes a baby being thrown across the room, and later being given a hand-grenade as a toy. This didn't endear "Dobermann" to the Norwegian critics! It was not shown in Oslo as a result of the regional cinema-director considering the movie devoid of interest and much, much too violent.

Which it is.

...but you more or less could have figured that out if you had taken a look at the film's trailer. What you may not be prepared for is the fact that the first 40 or 50 minutes of the film are surprisingly dull and far from action-packed. Things do pick up in the second half, and by the time we get to the final confrontation between Dobermann and the Nazi cop Christini (arguably the most repugnant cop in the history of movies) the violence finally has the kick that it should have had all along. (**)

Stylish, violent French thriller about some thoroughly unlikeable lowlife and the equally despicable policemen on their trail. In places, this film is original, funny and genuinely shocking, but there's not really enough here to offset the gun fetish.