Dead Man Down

Den Trailer vor dem Film zu sehen und dann auf eine actiongeladene Show zu warten, wäre ich wahrscheinlich auch enttäuscht. Die Realität ist jedoch etwas anders. Dead Man Down ist vor allem ein düsterer Thriller mit sorgfältig aufgebauter Atmosphäre, einer nicht ganz einfachen Handlung und einem großartigen Hauptdarsteller-Duo, dank dem der Film auch von einer gewissen rauen Romantik durchtränkt ist. Natürlich wird auch die Action nicht vergessen (im Grunde gibt es hier zwei kürzere und eine längere im Finale), und obwohl sie perfekt inszeniert sind, sind sie nicht ganz vorrangig. Es bietet sich hier ein Vergleich mit dem Film Drive aus dem Jahr zuvor an, mit dem Unterschied, dass dieser Film weniger "künstlerisch" ist, dafür aber mehr Betonung auf die Rache legt. (03.07.2013)

At first, a perfect romantic drama. Wrecks of people, chewed up by life, gaze at each other on the balcony until they like what they see and arrange a date. Then it begins to get a bit sticky and the heroes reveal their secrets. Add a couple of murders, a great atmosphere and it should work. And it works, but the cast and the director held more promise. And mainly the ending like out of a Segal movie cuts this movie’s throat. Don’t get me wrong, I like slaughterhouse finales, but it just wasn’t right for Dead Man Down. (03.07.2013)

The fusion of cinematic Europe with explosive American expectations is a double-edged sword, which in this case suffers mainly from a terrible script and the bored acting of those involved (apart from the characteristically dogged but suspect Rapeface). What does it matter, then, that the action scenes have everything I need, when one plotline is about an uncharismatic Hungarian gym-goer taking revenge on an appealing band of local mobsters (and we don't see why, we just have to take his word for it) and the other is about the fact that, because of some pretty nice facial scars, some stupid hooker decides to hire a homicidal asshole to take out the man who inadvertently did this to her. Less really is usually more. (03.05.2015)

A superbly cast film with a very cool and quiet atmosphere whose story unfortunately drags too much. Two hours is really excessive for a film where the most surprising things happen in the first third. I had to put on Dead Man Down six times, I think, to finally be able to watch it through without falling asleep. (11.10.2015)

Colin Farrel and his tough roles, it's always the same and still watchable. This time, the story is spiced up with the unusually scarred and appropriately mysterious Noomi Rapace and the polished gentleman Terrence Howard. It didn't strike me as any dizzying art, but the action was solid, the dramaturgy acceptable, and for an unknown director taking on the whole project, it wasn't completely bad. If you enjoy standard medium-budget thrillers and crime dramas, this will be okay. A classic for a Saturday afternoon, but in the evening, it's better to watch the main course. (13.10.2013)