Four Against the Bank (2016)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Four against the bank |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2016 |
| length | 96 minutes |
| Age rating |
FSK 12 JMK 10 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Wolfgang Petersen |
| script | Tripper Clancy |
| production |
Christopher Doll , Lothar Hellinger , Wolfgang Petersen |
| music | Enis Rotthoff |
| camera | Daniel Gottschalk |
| cut | Peter R. Adam |
| occupation | |
| |
Vier gegen die Bank is a German feature film by Wolfgang Petersen that was released in German cinemas on December 25, 2016. The comedy film is inspired by Petersen 's TV film of the same name from 1976. The four main roles are played by Til Schweiger , Matthias Schweighöfer , Jan Josef Liefers and Michael Herbig .
action
Chris, Max and Peter don't know each other and have little in common - except for one thing: the money you save is with “Bärenbank AG” in Berlin and is managed by investment advisor Tobias. Chris is an aging, mentally a bit plain and meanwhile half-blind boxer who keeps himself afloat financially with self-defense courses for women and occasional fights. All his life he saved up for his dream of being able to open his own boxing hall with all the trimmings. Max is an ambitious advertising professional from a wealthy family who, as an employee in a successful agency, perceives himself to be too limited and underappreciated. That's why he quits his job with very clear words and plans to start his own agency with his savings. Peter is an actor and co-starred the crime series “Bullet and Podolski” many years ago. But the offers have become rare for him, which is why he appears in student productions for little money. However, his savings are enough for him, his wife Freddie and their two children to make ends meet. Just as the three of them want to access their savings, they realize that everything is lost except for a few hundred euros.
The three meet for the first time in the foyer of the "Bear Bank" when they riot there and want to lynch Tobias. Tobias is a competent bank employee who invests the funds entrusted to him safely, but has few customers due to a lack of self-confidence in dealing with other people. Bank director Heinrich Schumacher, who puts the profit of the bank over the well-being of the customer, wants to get rid of Tobias and replace it with a consultant with fewer inhibitions. Without further ado, Schumacher has the entire money debited from Tobias' customers and accuses him of inability after withholding all market information from him. Tobias is released.
Chris, Max and Peter go to a pub together to have a drink after the severe shock. By chance they meet Tobias there, who is sitting bent over in a corner. When he leaves the pub, the other three follow him to his apartment, break into it and tie him up. However, Peter quickly abandons the idea of killing the innocent when Tobias comes out as a big fan of "Bullet and Podolski". The actor persuades Max and Chris to let Tobias live and instead get the money back from the bank - with the help of their “insider” Tobias.
So the quartet forges plans and - after many absurd suggestions from Chris to simply beat up anyone who opposes them on the way to the vault - finally comes to the conclusion that the bank will be stormed on a Friday (when new cash arrives), Chris switches off the security guards and then waits in front of the door in the escape vehicle, Max keeps the guests in check and Peter coaxes the code for the safe from Schumacher's assistant at gunpoint. Then two travel bags are to be stuffed full of cash, Max and Peter are supposed to escape through a side entrance and disappear with Chris in the getaway car. In preparation for their coup, the four steal a car from a long-term parking lot at the airport and pay a homeless person to simulate a robbery. So they find out that it takes the police about four and a half minutes to surround all the exits.
After that simulated robbery, Elisabeth Zollner appears at the bank. She heads the police department for solving bank robberies and considers the amateurish attempt by the homeless person (a candy bar was used as a "weapon") to be a preparatory measure for a real robbery. So she has everyone present interrogated after the "attack", including Peter, who claims to have only deposited money.
The day of the attack comes: Tobias is supposed to stay away from the action and do something different in front of many eyes in order to have an alibi as an obvious suspect. He attends a papal mass in the Olympic Stadium , overcomes his fear of his own nudity and whizzes through the stadium in front of over 50,000 people. The robbery itself goes according to plan at first, but threatens to fail when Peter can no longer recognize the last digit of the code scribbled in his hand, Max lets the crowd out of sight and Chris does not get the short-circuited escape vehicle started. Shortly before the police arrived, however, everything went well and the three amateur gangsters escaped with 2.1 million euros. Then they celebrate together with Tobias in Peter's basement, where they have to recognize that all notes are marked. Zollner had expected a real attack and therefore had all banknotes marked, which are no longer worth anything to the quartet. When shortly afterwards Peter (because of a clear false statement after the false attack), Chris (because of a striking tattoo on the forearm) and Tobias (because of his nude run) are suspected and questioned by Zollner, the four decide that the money and the " Culprits ”have to be found by the police - otherwise they would sooner or later be convicted.
With the help of Freddie they first manipulate Zollner: Max, who is the only one not suspected, is supposed to win over the policewoman looking for a partner by arranging a date with her via a dating site - in the same restaurant and at the same time that Schumacher and his Affair Heidi is also present as usual. Shortly beforehand, Peter and Freddie are also in the same restaurant, but leave it when Schumacher arrives. Using a trick, Peter manages to get Schumacher's fingerprints on a bundle of passports . When Zollner recognizes Schumacher and Max tells something about her work, Max explains that there is actually no difference between a bank director and a bank robber - both would appropriate other people's money. Meanwhile, Chris and Tobias hide 1.7 million euros and their passports in Schumacher's house and look for opportunities for offshore banking on his computer . Shortly thereafter, two old friends of Chris (who would rather be in jail than on the street) issue a few marked bills at a gas station, have the same tattoo as Chris and confess to the robbery. As the head of it all, they name Schumacher, whose house is then searched. After various pieces of evidence are found, the bank director is arrested.
The four celebrate their success together in a bar; everyone has the 100,000 euros that Schumacher cheated on them back and Tobias receives the same share. Max is firmly in a relationship with Zollner. Laughing, they realize that it was Schumacher's karma , which is why he is now in prison. They drink up with the promise to send other bank directors with bad karma to jail.
production
The shooting took place from November 30, 2015 to February 29, 2016 in Berlin. The old town house served as the outside backdrop for the bank . The papal mass was filmed in the Olympic Stadium .
The production costs were around 13 million euros. The gross profit is just over 9 million euros.
Trivia
- Vier gegen die Bank is Wolfgang Petersen's first feature film in 10 years (most recently Poseidon , 2006) and his first German film production since The Neverending Story (1984).
- The actors 'other roles are alluded to several times: For example, Chris' threat "Say goodbye to your eggs ", which is spoken in a very similar way (albeit far less comedically) of Schweiger's role in Inglourious Basterds . Or Peter's statement that he was once "the star of the most popular German crime series" - in fact, Liefers plays Karl-Friedrich Boerne in Münster's crime scene , which is one of the most popular crime scenes.
- Peter's previous role is Jürgen Podolski. However, he is often incorrectly called Lukas , like the former national soccer player.
- Peter's former “series partner” was Thomas Kretschmann as Inspector Bullet, which can be seen on some posters.
reception
Cinema wrote that director Wolfgang Petersen "cleverly uses the strengths of his stars", and that the "surprisingly fast-paced, lightweight crime comedy" is not lacking in "brisk sayings and gossip". As a conclusion it was said: "Enjoyable, lightweight crime comedy, which is forgiven for the tendency to gossip, but which does not stay in the memory for long."
Christoph Petersen von Filmstarts awarded 2 out of 5 stars and said that Vier gegen die Bank is a “dribbling crime comedy without a well thought-out plot”, which also has “quick-witted dialogues” as well as “satirical peaks “Missing. The “well-humored stars” would at least prevent “longer lengths from occurring” and drag the film “to the finish line, fortunately only 96 minutes away”.
The film service called the film a "turbulent crime comedy that unwinds the relevant narrative elements of classic caper movies while entertaining the four main actors". However, “neither the rapid narrative pace nor the over-the-top gags” could hide “the fact that the film only clings to surfaces and lacks charm and elegance”.
Frank Schnelle from epd Film , on the other hand, sums up: "A sad comeback: Wolfgang Petersen cannot score with his clumsy heist comedy despite (or perhaps because of) the assembled German star power".
Web links
- Four against the Bank in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Four against the bank at filmportal.de
- Four against the bank in the online film database
Individual evidence
- ^ Certificate of release for four against the bank . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 164319 / K).
- ↑ Age rating for four against the bank . Youth Media Commission .
- ^ All for Petersen. Blickpunkt: Film , November 2, 2015, accessed November 3, 2015 .
- ↑ Helgard Haß: "Vier gegen die Bank" with Schweiger, Bully, Liefers and Schweighöfer: "Das Boot" director Wolfgang Petersen is making another film in Germany. Film releases , November 2, 2015, accessed November 24, 2016 .
- ↑ Jakob Stadler: Tax money even for blockbusters. In: Augsburger Allgemeine . February 20, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Four against the bank. Cinema , accessed December 29, 2016 .
- ↑ Christoph Petersen: Four against the bank. Film releases , accessed December 29, 2016 .
- ↑ Four against the bank. Film service , accessed December 29, 2016 .
- ^ Criticism on Four Against the Bank | epd film. Retrieved July 27, 2019 .