Dobermann (1997)

Wonderful character development!

Very well executed

A Major Disappointment

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

'Dobermann' begins with a CGI dog shooting and urinating on peoples names. Next we have a scene where a christening turns into a baby getting his hands on a gun. Cut to a few years later and the criminal known as Dobermann shoots some kind of special bullet that can stop a lorry in its tracks. 'Dobermann' is an over-the-top stylish action gangster film that for once doesn't come from Japan. Dobermann and his posse which include a perverted, deadly priest, his death girlfriend, and a gay transvestite, go to pull of a bank robbery or two. Cue some violent set pieces such as the classic grenade in the motorbike helmet scene, with full head-on explosion. They get away but of course a heist movie can't go smoothly. So the second half of the film concentrates on the cops. The cop in charge happens to be more messed up and violent than the criminals, one of his interrogation methods includes giving a grenade to a baby. The police soon lodge a full on assault at a nightclub that Dobermann is frequenting. The plot is thin, the action fast and ferocious. Nothing quite like death by having your face scraped across the road while hanging out a fast moving car. So what if the plot is thin and the characters aren't really well drawn out? SO what if the film lacks any sense of morality? It's a wild ride not meant to be taken seriously. The direction fits in perfectly with what is going on. The characters, or rather caricatures, are memorable and each has their own memorable characteristic. The nightclub assault is full on action that wont disappoint adrenaline junkies. If nothing else 'Dobermann' gives French cinema a kick up the behind (not that one was needed), actually it gives French cinema a beating it wont soon forget.

DOBERMANN Aspect ratio: 2.39:1Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTSA psychotic police detective (Tchéky Karyo) pursues a gang of armed robbers led by the ultra-charismatic 'Dobermann' (Vincent Cassel).A colossal one-fingered salute to the bland, homogenised pap dominating international cinema at the time of its release, DOBERMANN not only set debut director Jan Kounen on the road to cinematic glory, it also helped kickstart an aggressive upsurge in ultra-commercial European cinema (the "Taxi" series, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, CRIMSON RIVERS, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, etc.), begun two years earlier by Mathieu Kassovitz's equally subversive LA HAINE (1995). Fans of political correctness need not apply: DOBERMANN is loud, excessive, obnoxious and morally ambiguous in equal measure, and while some viewers may be unable to reconcile themselves to the action and violence of Kounen's raucous worldview, others should cling onto their seats and prepare for the ride of a lifetime...As the above plot synopsis attests, Kounen and scriptwriter Joël Houssin (upon whose pulp novels the film is based) have stripped the plot down to its barest essentials and constructed a series of instantly recognisable character-types (saint, sinner, braggart, dimwit, etc.), thereby liberating Kounen to indulge his true objectives: To push the boundaries of cinema to their absolute limits. DOBERMANN is a swirling tornado of audiovisual delights which unfolds via shock cuts, hurtling camera-work, loud explosions and in-yer-face action set-pieces, a heady mixture of Hollywood gloss and Hong Kong stuntwork ramped to the max. You want subtle? Try Merchant Ivory. THIS movie wants to gouge your eyes out!! The cast is toplined by French superstars Cassel and Monica Bellucci (they married in 1999), playing the antihero and his ultra-loyal partner in crime, and they both manage to carve a niche amidst the film's visual excesses, while Dobermann's misfit gang includes Stéphane Metzger (TRANSFIXED) as a beautiful drag queen who supports his loving, unsuspecting wife and family via prostitution. But the movie is stolen clean away by Karyo as the deranged cop on Dobermann's tail, an irredeemable psycho who's prepared to break every rule - legal and moral - to bring his nemesis to book. However, the audience's loyalties are tested when one of Dobermann's gang (the 'good' guys) shoots an inexperienced rookie cop for no other reason than he happens to be within range during a bank robbery, an incident which pegs the characters as dispensable lowlife scum. But this outrage is balanced by a subsequent scene in which Karyo (the 'bad' guy) invades a birthday party and forces Metzger to betray Dobermann's whereabouts by threatening the younger man's newborn child, before revealing Metzger's drag queen alter ego to his horrified, clueless family. Though the scene is cruel and uncompromising, Kounen isn't interested in queer-bashing a sympathetic character, merely demonstrating the moral corruption of Karyo's villainous detective; the drag queen is written and played with quiet dignity, and Metzger's 'fate' for betraying Dobermann under duress is both amusing and redemptive...Houssin's scenario builds to a frenzied showdown in a fancy nightclub, where Dobermann's gang defend themselves against an army of gun-toting police officers, and Karyo finally confronts his mortal enemy, culminating in an explosion of horrific violence. You have been warned! In fact, the script's antisocial attitude is perhaps a little TOO crude and excessive in places, but the director signals his intentions late in the film when a drug-addled gangster goes to the toilet and uses pages from 'Cahiers du Cinema' to, er... clean up after himself (if you catch my drift)! Tired of adhering to the established confines of critical acceptability, Kounen and his production team have fashioned an instant cult classic, one which defies convention and spits in the face of diplomacy. Acting and technical credits are top-notch throughout.(French dialogue)

Dobermann shows how french can produce trashy films. They wanted to do a different action movie and they got it, but being different does not mean being good in fact when someone tries so badly to do different things, as anyone can notice in this film, the results are poor. What makes a movie good or a cult? It is hard to say, but it is certain that Dobermann does not have anything of what is needed. A good movie, or a cult one, is not based in the appearances, it must have some substance and Dobermann does not have anything beyond the never ending gun fights, the shallow characters and dull dialogues.But watching that movie is not a total waste of time, you can learn what not must be done in movies and Dobermann has many examples about that.

I found this film 97 percent very good - it's running with an excellent-made action, ultra-violence, beating music and a reiterative plot (therefore the 3 other percent). What I really did like was the editing that contribute the film very realistic feature (more then others movies that futile just because the editor was merely an amateur) and the beating and the hitting scenes looked very good with then.although the film is delivering the goods - from the prospective of the visual side (and in a very good way, i must add) - it's failing miserably in delivering an intellect/thoughtful message or somewhat of a meaningful point. Of course, I don't criticize the film too much about that, though i prefer the point-making-movies.This film is for those who like action films with a lot of violence and a tepid plot, that it's only pure purpose is to the bring the viewer a 90 minutes of mid pleasure - which it does!