Instant Favorite.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Based on a comic book, Jan Kounen's "Dobermann" is a French crime film that never shies away from taking things to the extreme. Kicking things off with a nice animated intro sequence, Jan Kounen then takes the viewer to the protagonist's (Vincent Cassel) baptism, where a darkly humorous and somewhat twisted situation occurs - I am not giving this one away. Then, Kounen fast forwards to several years later, in the midst of a heist, where you get a first glimpse at how colourful and bold the characters are going to be. Buckle up.Dobermann's characters are, by far, its strongest asset. The whole film is a relatively classic "cops versus criminals" story, where the line between both camps is not only blurry - it becomes totally nonexistent. Cristini (Tcheky Karyo), described by his colleagues as a "nazi", is a twisted, ultraviolent, vicious police officer who's become obsessed with the Dobermann clan that keeps robbing one bank after another. Fed up with watching his colleagues clumsily fail to catch the Dobermann and his pals, he decides to take extreme measures to get the job done. This culminates in an adrenaline-pumping, lengthy final sequence in which bodies pile up to the loud sound of Prodigy and the likes, and unfolding in some vividly demented - almost surreal - nightclub. To give you an idea of the colorful palette of characters that awaits you, you also get the Dobermann's girlfriend, a mute, sadistic nympho; Pitbull and Moustique, two hardened criminals whose temper is quickly exposed when they play a tennis game; a priest who carries a Bible in which he hides grenades; Cristini's sidekick cop, who's just a huge fan of his boss; Sonia, a drag queen...and the list goes on. Filled with dark humour almost from start to finish, Dobermann packs hilarious dialogue, cool aesthetics, costumes, and overall cinematography, plenty of violence which, despite never being particularly graphic, sometimes comprises very disturbing situations - again, I am not giving anything away. While the bloodletting is moderate, the inherent nature of many characters, especially Cristini, is extremely violent. In that regard, I have to say, Cristini is perhaps one of the craziest villains (yes, that's how blurry the line gets) I have ever seen in a film. Tcheky Karyo is absolutely bone-chilling in this flick.While there isn't all that much to interpret about this film, the very last sequence almost feels like a hangover after a night of excess. And that's exactly what Dobermann is: excessive in its visuals, from the lighting to the characters' gun designs; excessive in its violence, from the characters' nature to some of the very inventive killings it puts on display; excessive in its soundtrack, with plenty of techno music playing out loud; and excessive in its direction and editing, from an amazing split-screen sequence to camera movements and shots delivering images that appear to be taken out of a comic book strip. The pace of the film is not constantly frenetic, though. And that might be the only downside. However, trust me, the 25 final minutes of this film are complete insanity. I can understand why this is a cult favourite: it has many memorable moments, characters, all-out action and a dark sense of humour that make it unique.

Be prepared for joy ride of bank loot in style. The grossly entertaining piece of French action stars Vincent Cassel in lead role and beautiful Monica Bellucci as his mute partner. The movie has some of the most violent scenes of 90s cinema. But they have been presented in well balanced manner. The psychotic police officer on quest to catch Dobermann and his gang has been amazingly played by Mr. Tchéky Karyo. The way he interrogates a drag and his family about Dobermann is really frightening and some may even find it unethical.Only thing I missed was Monica Bellucci's acting talent (If she has) since was playing a mute. Vincnet Cassel rocked in lead.All in all, a hard to find rare gem of French action cinema.

I really don't know what to think about this movie. It seems to have all the elements that should make me enjoy it insanely. Dynamic action, fast pace, flashy violence, a healthy sense of the absurd, Vincent Cassel the Hot Frenchman. And, most importantly, the whole array of brutal, morally repulsive, crazy individuals, unredeemable or simply not wishing to be redeemed, visibly contended with their wicked ways. I've always liked dark characters better. I find them more exciting. The generic good guys are too bland, too boring. Also, if totally honorable, selfless, nice and altogether perfect, too irritating. It's the flaws that make people interesting. The more flaws they've got, the more points they score. At least in the movies. In real life, I prefer to hang out with the good guys. Although much less captivating, they're much easier to handle, and I'm all for minimizing the effort.In 'Dobermann' there are practically no positive characters, which actually makes sense. All the movies with criminals as the main focus are like that. I'm not talking here about the 'soft' criminals like charming crooks, gentlemen thieves and suave conmen. I mean the violent, murderous brand here. The ones that you certainly wouldn't want to cross paths with.In such movies, the lack of good characters is, in fact, crucial. Apart from the hapless victims with less than five minutes of screen-time, of course. These are welcome. No actual players, though. An honest, hard-working cop, a stern detective with a heart of gold or even a brave, steadfast construction worker, they would all compromise the whole idea. They would automatically gain the sympathy of the audience, who would start to root for them, completely condemning the villains. And that would be quite a problem, when the movie is actually about the villains. Well, they certainly deserve condemning, no argument here, but it isn't so vivid if there are no major positive characters to compare them with. This way there's no one to create the unfavourable contrast. We support the side represented not by the good characters, because there aren't any, but simply the main characters. That's when they have at least a few publicly approved traits (like cuteness or sense of humour). If they have none, we just watch the movie without any emotional involvement and just enjoy the show.I'm using the term 'we' rather loosely. I mean an average movie watcher, who cheers for the Good and scorns the Evil. Me, I generally like the Evil, but only if said Evil is not so ridiculously two-dimensional or ostensibly stupid that it offends my intelligence. The Cardboard Evil, not a fan.The thing is, I didn't enjoy 'Dobermann' insanely. It was fun to watch, sure, but not nearly as thrilling as, say, 'Devil's Rejects', 'Sin City' or 'Kill Bill'. I had the impression that it was trying too hard. To shock, to disgust, to scandalize. When the violence and vulgarity reach certain level of excessiveness, the grotesque begins. It's the transition that I watch with pleasure every time I see it. Here, however, it appeared to be too theatrical. Done with some skill, but staged nonetheless, even slightly forced. The movie would have undoubtedly benefited from a subtler touch. I also have some complaints regarding the main character, Dobermann himself. Well, perhaps not complaints, since it's such a harsh word, but a couple of little grumbles. I just don't think he's sufficiently memorable. I will certainly remember the dog-loving Pitbull, the ruthless, stoic Priest or the sparkly drag queen Sonia. But their leader was so slick, unflappable and laid-back, everything you expect from a classy gang leader, that he simply doesn't stick in the memory. He doesn't have anything that would make him easily recognizable among all the other master criminals. He's got a cool gun, but that's not enough.All that makes me feel at a loss. The movie is entertaining, but also mindless and pretty crude at times. Some scenes are brilliant, some blown to unnecessarily grand proportions. It belongs to one of my favourite genres, which means that I have high expectations but, at the same time, forgive a lot of trespasses. Kind of like you do with your own children.Hmm, I liked it, it was good. But the hint of disappointment is still there.

Dobermann from 1997 is a quite destructive movie, which to mewas kind of a drag to watch at times, but still fascinating.Lots of the humour that I think the movie aimed to have kind ofdrowned in its pretty dark, violent and almost depressiveatmosphere. Vincent Cassell was good in this, and fans of the gorgeousMonica Belluci probably won't be disappointed either. It quite reminded me of Gaspar Nóe's "Irreversible". Dark andawful, but more diguised as a cartoonhero movie. Just thatDobermann had no actual superpowers. I know the movie wasn't aired here in Norway due to its graphicnature, and I can understand that. Try it if you like French cinema and just can't get enough ofTarantino.