Dobermann (1997) – Film Review

Director: Jan Kounen
Cast: Vincent Cassel, Monica Bellucci and Romain Duris
Certificate: 18

By Roger Crow

Few things date faster than computer-generated animation, and while the opening titles of this cult comedy thriller look their age, the idea of a CG humanoid dog relieving themselves over the credits sums things up brilliantly.

It’s a big, loud, brutal, angry movie with a superb cast. Vincent Cassel, who went on to be in mainstream Hollywood offerings like Ocean’s 13, Black Swan, and Jason Bourne, takes the lead (sorry). He’s the eponymous anti-hero gang leader, while the divine Monica Bellucci steals every scene she’s in as the crook’s deaf moll with a penchant for blowing things up.

Together with a brutal pack of fellow thieves, Dobermann pulls off a tricky job with a mercilessly high body count.

“Not for the faint of heart”

Following the violent heist, a rogue cop is hot on their heels and he’ll stop at nothing to take down the insane criminal gang.

Dobermann is about as subtle as a bull on roller skates in a China shop, and it’s not for the faint of heart, as a head being scraped along tarmac from a moving car proves.

However, for those who love comic book-style offerings from Luc Besson or Jean Pierre Jeunet, it’s worth at least one look. Oh, and any movie with music by The Prodigy earns instant points in my book.