Purely Joyful Movie!

Pretty Good

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

This movie features several well known actors which I usually like, so I had at least modest expectations when I rented this on DVD. I was highly disappointed. In fact I walked off for some snacks somewhere during the last half hour and somehow I ended up in the kitchen rather then going back to the TV. The actor performances where poor pretty much all across the board and none of the atmospheres in the movie felt very convincing. Virtually all scenes had that "just a movie" feeling to them, I just sat there waiting to hear the director calling "CUT!" followed by the crew having a little chat about the scene before moving on to the next.Since the movie is about gangsters most characters are tough and mob-like, the problem here is just that this whole bad-boy attitude is played out so poorly that it just feels like a joke. The constant guitar-drilling soundtrack really tries to emphasize this atmosphere too, but when the same track is played the 18th time it just adds to the already strong feeling of the whole thing just being fake.Maybe it was just a really really bad script, maybe it was just poorly executed. I'm no movie critic, in fact I consider it rare to see something that's REALLY good, but this was just plain bad no matter how objective and forgiving I'm trying to be. NOT recommended, not even as a rental!

Generally speaking Swedish films reflect a mentality of narrow minded social realism...Gangster on the other hand is a dark fairy tale. A fevered dream. I was Spellbound by Photography so lush I forgot the drab reality waiting just outside the theater. Its a no holds barred cinematic joy ride. Guns. Cars. Intrig. Chase. Seduction. Sexy chicks. Sexy men. High concept with a dash of pagan symbolism. Great music. Stunning photography. Everything an entertaining movie should have, even the bold choice of its eclectic art direction and the soulful soundtrack added to the exotic flavor of this film.Gangster is a breath of fresh air in a mausoleum of cultural cadavers. At 127min running time it seemed much shorter because of the directors command of the material. It was a sensual dance of rhythmic images that altered the experience of time, also thanks to imaginative editing.The down side? - Having been made in Swedish = Its at the mercy of a provincial group of critics suffering from small town syndrome ... ( Swedish critics are world renowned for their plagaristic ways lacking in any original capacity to judge for themselves ... Simply put = Gangster is over their heads )Had it been made in English with the same sensibility Gangster would have been a smash hit. Never the less I think at the end of the day it will do extremely well. Either way I hope there will be an English remake...There is an old saying about throwing pearls to swine...The time may be ripe for these very talented filmmakers to move on to bigger and better things...I highly recommend this film to anyone with an Open Mind, a sense of Adventure, and a Romantic Spirit...BRAVO GANGSTER!

Where do I start. Lets list the good things about this movie first.1. Mikael Persbrandt is great as the Gangster Thomas. This is the only character you will actually care about, and he's a bad guy! (allthogh never does anything bad, and is generally a pretty likable guy) 2. Kjell Bergkvist is always great. He's a bit toned down here, but he is quite funny still 3. The movie looked pretty good by Swedish standards, good use of depth of field and lights.Now the bad. This is by far the worst script to make it into the big screen ever. The acting by everyone else was pretty bad and over the top. The direction was horrible. A totally meaningless story, totally unrealistic characters and events and 1.5 hours to long. During emotional scenes pretty much everyone in the theater laughed. People just started walking out during the course of the screening. There's no way to actually summarize the story into something coherent, so I wont even try. Every cliché ever conceived is in there, and in all the wrong places. I'm sorry to say this is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life. Watch it for a good laugh, but try not to pay any money for it ;).R

I watched a preview showing and before one of the producers explained that this is a saga set in well known Stockholm locations but with chicks in high heels and guns.The acting was sometimes bad and drew some laughs from the audience, but overall it the acting was OK. The movie is obviously not realistic and it doesn't pretend to be. There were a lot of memorable characters but no real character development, except maybe for the son of a shipowner. The references to other great gangster or mob movies like Godfather and Goodfellas are obvious but the movie doesn't try to be like them, but to pay homage to them.Overall an OK film with some funny moments.