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.

I'm writing this review to tell you that: watch the end credits and almost till the end. There is a fun addition or two that they have :)

The movie itself is a quite fun and lightweight popcorn movie. I would like to rate it 6.5, but I can't, and I think 7 is just a bit too much. It's because some scenes are overplayed and exaggerated, and they lose their impact and realism. Or maybe everything else is underplayed and sometimes a bit dull.

At some point, it feels like a black comedy, but not all jokes are on that level. The drama is there, but I think they rushed a little bit with these scenes. A few more minutes given and it might even pull a tear.

Nevertheless, it's a fun watch and a good effort.

The first 5 minutes after very promising.

A new actor, a .nice car. A man in a mission to be a good daddy and not to drift away to the narrow road.

But there is not a real coherent story, plotholes the size of Vlaanderen, a very short meaningless role by Frank Lammers. The movie isn't really going anywhere and it ends nowhere. Every cliche is being used in abundance. But where the French movie Taxi succeeds in creating a energizing franchise , this is a black hole of movie cliches, bad acting. Go visit Antwerp, get a taxi and take a nice drive. Avoid this mess like the plaque. Don't watch it!

No pun intended - especially because you may think of something different than what I mean. Point of ... car is what my summary stands for. And it is because of the movie being inside ... for most of the time. And even when we go outside it has something to do with the car ... like a shot from a part of the car ... reflections and all that.

The main character is played by a Greek and he seems to be "connected" to his car ... like a lot! Don't get it wrong: he loves his girlfriend and his daughter at least as much as the car ... he also knows a bit Greek, though grammatically speaking he is not on top of his game.

A lot of swearing, a lot of action ... combined they make quite the fun movie. (Un)fortunately the rap song has not been released digitally at the time of writing as a friend has confirmed ...