Sometimes it's more important how it's made than what it's made about, and this movie demonstrates that perfectly. History itself is a complete primitive: the bandits attacked, and the cops tied them up, that’s all. But at the same time made juicy, dynamic, almost no extra personnel. Not every viewer is able to appreciate and even
more
Sometimes it's more important how it's made than what it's made about, and this movie demonstrates that perfectly. History itself is a complete primitive: the bandits attacked, and the cops tied them up, that’s all. But at the same time made juicy, dynamic, almost no extra personnel. Not every viewer is able to appreciate and even notice how good the camera work is - the camera here did everything it could, there were long plans, there was a rotation around the action scene, there were flights of gaze around the building. For Russian cinema, this is a triumph of cinematography, and in the West this is not often seen. All fights are also surprisingly well staged, and what is important – long plans, i.e. it is not a one-beat cut (so any fool can be portrayed as a hero), but really good preparation and choreography. Here about humor is already debatable - some jokes were funny, but most caused complete bewilderment. For example, how did the thug-driver know that now he would have to show his fax through the window, and why did he insist on this, losing valuable time? Twin idiots played by Anatoly Koshcheev - not funny! Although some moments in physics chases were really funny. The worst thing about the film is the villains themselves: they are ridiculous, they overplay monstrously, they behave absolutely not like people, but like some Bugs Bunny, their robbery plan is disgusting, they do everything to lose. To some plot points, there are questions, for example, why did Thunder stay in the form of a clerk for so long when he could knock out a bandit barely left alone with him? What is the statue of Poseidon made of that falls apart so easily? Why does a thug run to the roof of a building, he's got a helicopter? So it turned out to be something like a stupid but energetic cartoon, performed by live actors. It is impossible not to compare it with the simultaneously released Defenders, where there was nothing at all – no action, no camera work, no humor, no interesting characters, no emotions, no anything Russian. And here it is. The main plus I think that the authors managed to shoot something [almost] superhero with Russian flavor, but at the same time suitable to show in the West and not to disgrace. And the main disadvantage is the complete lack of common sense in everything that is happening. If the bandits were more believable, and defeating them was a little more difficult, if there were not some stupid jokes, I would give a high rating from the heart.
|