Customer Reviews

Crime Spree (Widescreen/Full Screen)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Crime Spree is brilliant parody of many film genres (crime/mafia, fish out of water, comedy of errors). The performances by Gérard Depardieu (Daniel Foray), Albert Dray (Raymond Gayet), Johnny Hallyday (Marcel Burot), and Renaud (Zero) were excellent.

If you enjoyed watching likeable wannabe crooks bumble around in movies like "Snatch" and "Lock, Stock, and two Smoking Barrels," this movie belongs in the same bin. Not as good in my opinion, but still really funny.

A bunch of entry-level criminals from France can't ever do anything right, so their boss sends them to Chicago for one last chance at a big job. This job goes worse than their previous work, and they find themselves at odds with the Chicago mafia (led by Harvey Keitel and Abe Vigoda) and a street gang.

The plot is not as twisted and surprising as other movies, but it's original as far as I can tell. You might guess at what is going to happen if you are one of those types trying to figure it out, but at least you won't feel like you are watching something you have already seen, and you will laugh all the way. On the other hand, people like me will be thrilled all the way.

I don't know how I stumbled onto this DVD, but my blind purchase (I do that sometimes) was a success. There are some moments in this movie that are laugh-out-loud funny. All of the French actors in this film are legends in France for one reason or another (some of them are famous music artists) and the nearly always excellent Harvey Keitel and Abe Vigoda also star.

The French thieves appear to be bumbling idiots at first, but despite appearances they get it together as the movie progresses, so don't expect non-stop slapstick humour. The laughs are sometimes in the more subtle situation-comedy moments. There are some tense and surprisingly violent scenes too. At times the script was clichéd ("you must either be brave or very stupid to be here") and I also felt like a better editor could have salvaged some of the jokes (and punchlines)...there were a few times where there were pauses before or after a joke that felt a bit too: oh i see, you want me to laugh now, right?. I also dislike the premise in movies, where everyone is a potential traitor (which is a cheap and easy way for allowing lots of plot twists to complicate things).

The DVD: Nothing except for the director & producer commentary, which is, by the way, very interesting. And I don't mean that in a good way. I advise you to NOT listen to the commentary, because you may suddenly notice a lot more flaws in the film that more seasoned directors (who, granted, probably would have bigger budgets) would have not let go unnoticed. The director/writer Brad Mirman is not a dumb guy, but he's clearly inexperienced and perhaps a bit too pleased with his (debut?) film -- ie. 'oh I love this next scene'.

Look past my complaints, this film has a fresh and funny approach on a tired (mafia & fish out of water) theme, with funny and inspired performances all round. Recommended.

God, this movie is funny.

There is one thing I would like to point out: Many people refer to this as a foreign film, and I guess technically it is since it was made by a Canadian company, but I feel this is misleading and many people will think it is a foreign language film, when it is not. The first few minutes of the movie are in French with English subtitles, but after that the entire movie (except for one scene) is in English.

I have to say that making an English-speaking film with French actors was a gamble - but it was a gamble that pays off big-time. These guys are so funny they reduce you to tears. Crime Spree is a unique twist on an old genre. I highly recommend it for everyone who like to laugh.

This is one of the funniest crime caper movies I have ever seen. I rented it last night with some friends and we were howling. We actually rewinded the movie in a few spots to watch scenes again because they were so funny. The director does an excellent job balancing between belly-laugh comedy and heart-pounding action. I agree with the reviewer below - the eye-ball shot is brilliant -- as are many other action shots in this film. The casting was wonderful and I take my hat off to the French actors for doing such a good job in English. If you are a comedy fan then this movie is a must see!

This DVD is like finding a $20 bill laying in the street. What a great find. Much more than I ever expected. I laughed and I broke a sweat. Great characters, engaging plot, good acting. Being a fan of foreign films, this one is in my top 5 of the last year. The Direction was SUPERB (Take note of the bullet to closing eyelid camera shot...BRILLIANT! Speilberg, eat your heart out)

Well worth the rent. Starting from the first scene, it progressed into a Must See!

RENT THIS DVD!

My friends and I watched this film last night and just about lost our dinners we were laughing so hard. I would most definately recommend this to anyone who likes to laugh. So many good things but, I won't ruin any of them for you- GO GET IT NOW-

Crime Spree at first sounds like a serious crime drama, yet after you watch it you will not think so. It's about a bumbling group of French thieves who are sent to the US to pull of a heist that will set things straight for their boss back in France. I won't give any more plot details away, (save that for the box), but it certainly is funny. I wasn't thinking it was going to be as funny as it was, but I laughed almost through the entire film. The most surprising thing is that these were genuine laughs, not forced as with most comedies these days. Crime Spree is a fresh look at a genre that has grown very tiresome. Highly suggested for fans of crime gone awry films and for anyone looking to laugh a few hours away. The DVD doesn't offer anything other than a trailer and commentary.

It is always wonderful to see something new with Gerard Depardieu and with the addition of Renaud and Johnny Hallyday, can't get better than that, with a true French cast. Harvey Keitel was excellent as the Mafia boss. I recommend it to anyone who likes a good crime spoof.

lots of the sections are pretty funny but, well, very pretentious and very unnatural too. the biggest flaw is how come these losers would become thieves in the first place? if these fella could and would choose such uncommon and difficult profession, then what kind of professions we normal people with tolerated i.q. would choose and get started? the french toughness is really so invincible even the french stupidity is so ridiculously hopeless? the other thing comes to my mind during viewing is that gerard depardieu actually is a very poor actor in comedy. he's the only person who seems to never enjoy very much of the foolishness. he didn't look or act stupid in the least.