H4Z4RD

Cool Flemish action movie. Expect over the top action sequences. Also a lot of humor. Great acting debute of word famous dj Dimitri Vegas. Ben Segers performance is stunning, Go and discover the city of Antwerp in a way you have never seen before.

Probably you have heard of him, or perhaps you haven't, but the lead protagonist of "H4Z4RD" is world-famous, and one of the export products my lovely country Belgium is most proud of. Together with his brother Like Mike, Dimitri Vegas has been elected several times already as the best Techno/House DJs in the world. But Dimitri Thivaios also has another dream and ambition that he often and openly promotes in the Belgian media; namely that he wants to be an - preferably international - actor. He already played minuscule roles in major productions, like "Rambo V" and "Jurassic World: Dominion" but the big debut takes place in his homestead of Antwerp.

Without immediately putting a label of good or bad on the film, the least you can say about "H4Z4RD" is that it's a very eccentric and highly unusual motion picture for Belgian standards. Think of a combo between "Crank" and "The Fast and the Furious"; - a fast paced and hectically edited hour and a half music video full of deranged characters, unrealistic situations, gratuitous violence, offensive and borderline vulgar humor, loud music, and a bit of Flemish couleur locale. It certainly isn't new or innovative, but it's unique for Flanders, and I'm still amazed that a bonkers project like this received funding from the (normally very traditional and boring) cultural institution VAF.

The story? Obsessive car tuner Noah Hazard agrees to a "job" as getaway driver for his recently released from prison - and totally whacko - nephew Carlos. Obviously, they steel from the wrong people, resulting in Noah's daughter getting kidnapped and the challenge of returning the loot before nightfall. Some of the stuff they encounter is fairly standard (thugs, police chases) while others are totally absurd (pervert guards, rabid dogs).

Dimitri Vegas isn't a good actor just yet, but I reckon he can become one. At least he's already well-surrounded. Co-star Jeroen Perceval is terrific, as usual, and gives a phenomenally OTT-performance as the white trash wannabe gangster-rapper with a speaking disorder and aggressive temper. Jonas Govaerts is one of the rising star directors in this country and put himself on the map with the slasher "Cub" and the thriller series "Tabula Rasa". Like that other Flemish blockbuster of 2022, "Zillion", "H4Z4RD" has an exhilarating soundtrack full of Belgian dance classics from the nineties and plenty of inside jokes. It won't be the greatest film you'll ever watch, but it's a fun ride.

A man and his beloved car's day is about to go down the drain. Dimitri Vegas, not being an actor is quite good in his role. Jeroen Perceval has a habit of overdoing his roles so much that all credibility goes out of the door and you can only see him as a parody and he isn't helped by a very weak script. A good actress like Jennifer Heylen should have gotten more screentime. The music in this film has 4 tracks that were used in another flemish movie from 2022, the very well made and entertaining 'Zillion', which is weird for 20 year old music tracks. At times H4ZARD looks like a video clip which to me comes across as archaic and lazy. Maybe that's why the director only gets to make one movie every decade. Avoid this one at all costs, there are plenty of flemish movies and series that range from good to excellent, this one is not part of that collection...

80 minutes pure adrenaline from Antwerp in one of the most surprising movies of the year so far. An over the top rollercoaster. It helps if you have some knowledge of the Antwerp dialect and it also available to know a little about some Belgium political affairs to understand some of the surprising depth which is hidden in this not so subtile movie. The car, I don't know if Lexus was happy with this way of advertising, is used as the point of view of the camera and that really works. The acting, especially from the Flemish actors is superb, but it really starts with the 5 minutes Dutch actor. Frank Lammers makes his short entrance. Only dissonant Mobic Hendricks as Miss Brasschaat.

A sublime rollercoaster made with inventive and original cinematic points of view. Delicious Belgian low budget that outclasses Tarantino and Fast and Furious. Too bad for the English market (and the rest of the world) that the Antwerp language cannot be translated. Deep respect to Jonas and crew for this delightful film pleasure.