Der Clown

Who the heck visits a movie spin-off of a German trash TV-Series and doesn't know what to expect? This film was great: funny lines, great stunts, simple story. It delivered exactly, what I needed! In fact, it was like a double feature of the show with more budget. Well, the director seems to be a little bit "over-talented", but in the end, it was a great fun to watch this movie. The acting was OK, the only downside was the replacement of Diana Frank as Claudia Diel. The movie would have worked the same way with the original team and I'm not sure, why they replaced her with Eva Habermann. Maybe it was because off age or money, I don't know.

But whoever came up with this crap? The series had more action, more funny lines, and a packed story altogether. The effects are crappier than I've ever seen before. Take the shot with the lorry that's being rocketed - you clearly see a dummy driving. Or the shot where a car passes a tram, it's clearly computer generated.

Might not be that bad, but untrue characters that do really stupid moves, it might have been acceptable at the beginning of cinema.

And then the soundtrack. After practically every scene a bit of English or German noise has to be added. Why, is it a musical or what?

Really awful and unbelievable. We've seen many events in other movies before, and a lot better. I loved Kommissar Rex, Derrick, Der Alte, Der Klown, but this is major C*R*A*P!

Apparently based on a German TV series of the same name and with much of the same cast, "The Clown" moves at a somewhat rushed pace, especially in the first half, that makes it feel almost like an extended series episode; the story also has some questionable points (they find the bad guys' first hideout via a pizza delivery?), and the direction is at times overly gimmicky, overusing the slow-motion and the split-screens. In spite of all that, the film satisfies on its intended pure-action level. The stunts, explosions and chases are exceptionally spectacular, easily on the level of a James Bond movie if not better, and seemingly all done for real, without the use of CGI. It's a film that seems to have been made only for the sheer joy of action, and it transfers much of that joy to the viewer. And of course my comment would be incomplete without mentioning Eva Habermann (the good girl), who is very very beautiful and very very physical, and Xenia Seeberg (the bad girl), who looks a lot like Angelina Jolie, from the expressions to the pouty lips, and gets to fire hundreds of bullets, one of them right into the gut of a man she had just kissed passionately. (**1/2)

I don't know which film the writers of the other comments have seen, but I enjoyed the movie "Der Clown". You should not forget that this is an action film and this genre is not defined by a complex story or portraits of characters. An action film must contain action and there is a lot of it in "Der Clown". There are many difficult stunts, e.g. with a helicopter. Only very few people can fly a helicopter as it is shown in the film! Almost every big object explodes, not only cars ... The split screens are not silly, but a very interesting feature. They increase the speed of the film. There are quick changes between the different places of action. It fits very good to the genre of action films. Silly is in my opinion the discussion about the other technical stuff (video, red colour). I watch films because of their content and not as technician. I also appreciate the way in which the background of the story is shown. The Clown remembers how his former girl friend was killed by a gangster - a scene which he will never forget. During this flashback you can hear the song "Kein Weg zurück" (No way back) of the band Wolfsheim - a good combination of content and music! So, I can say that it is a good film which was made by professionals who knew very well what they did!

This is by far the worst film ever made. It lacks idea, talent and originality and makes Ed Wood's films seem like Oscar masterpieces. Even the special effects and stunts are boring and completely laughable. It feels like it's been made by monkeys. the "acting" is nonexistent and against the Geneva Conventions and the dialog is so embarrassing that i had to switch it off from time to time. Even a piece of mud would act better that this ensemble. It is a complete waste of time and money. If you want something interesting, i recommend to rather watch static on TV and to avoid this film under all circumstances.