World Express - breathless through Mexico
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | World Express - breathless through Mexico |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 2011 |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Robert Del Maestro |
| script |
Roland Heep , Frank Koopmann |
| production | Henriette Lippold |
| camera | Henning Jessel |
| cut | Dora Vajda |
| occupation | |
| |
World Express - Breathless through Mexico (also World Express: The Secret of the Maya ) is a German action film from 2011 .
action
David Voss and Philipp Harmsdorf work for the international courier service World Express , which specializes in the transport of dangerous goods, valuables and secret documents. In Mexico they have to bring a Mayan sky disc stolen from a museum to a group of men who kidnapped Janina, the daughter of a German anthropologist . The sky disc is said to be the ransom for the release of the young woman.
But the two men are attacked by an armed man shortly after taking over the package with the sky disc. Philipp is shot and falls into a river, the attacker steals the package. David is convinced that Philip is dead, but he cannot make out a corpse in the brown-yellow river water. He meets the mother of the kidnapped, it is his former childhood sweetheart Corinna Achternberg, from whom he once separated in an argument.
Together they follow the trail of the kidnappers to a ruined city of the Mayas. Time is of the essence because Janina's kidnappers have set an ultimatum of 24 hours: If the sky disc has not been handed over to them by then, the girl should die. While driving through Mexico, Corinna and David get closer again. It turns out that it was Corinna herself who stole the sky disk in the museum. She knows that a second disk exists - both put together should point the way to a collection of the medical secret knowledge of the Mayas. However, a pharmaceutical company is also interested in this collection; the value of knowledge about the Mayan healing arts is estimated at millions.
In the ruined city, Corinna and David manage to free Janina from the hands of the kidnappers. She learns from her mother that David is her father. At this moment Philip, who was believed dead, appears. He takes the bag with the sun disk, pushes Janina into an old VW van at gunpoint and drives off. But Corinna and David can catch up with him on a horse by taking a shortcut through the forest. David climbs from the horse onto the roof of the moving van, from which Janina jumps to her mother on the horse.
David penetrates the bully and tries to disarm Philipp. But this causes the van to overturn with a sharp steering movement, while David hits the roof of his head and loses consciousness for a moment. But he quickly gets up to follow Philipp to the nearby beach. He takes control of a motorboat, but David grabs a rope hanging from the boat. Philipp notices David climbing onto the boat, turns around and threatens him with the pistol. He misses the fact that the boat is hurtling towards a rocky island.
David can jump off at the last moment and save the sun disk in the process. Philipp dies in the explosion of the boat. The film ends with the handover of the sun disk to the museum from which it was originally stolen. The museum director does not find out that the thief was Corinna.
Characters
David Voss: With his colleague Philip Harmsdorf, David is working around the globe for the World Express . He is good friends with Philip and therefore his apparent death hits him very hard. He was with Corinna Achternberg, but he parted ways with her. But when he sees her again, he realizes that old love doesn't rust.
Corinna Achternberg: Corinna works as an anthropologist for a Mexican museum. When her daughter Janina is kidnapped, she doesn't want to leave the ransom delivery to the courier alone, as she knows that her ex-boyfriend David is one of the couriers. That's why she goes looking for her daughter on her own. But the adventure trip through Mexico is not without its obstacles - especially since Corinna herself was not always completely honest with David.
Franz Joseph Anson: Anson is the head of the courier service "Anson & Sons World Express", which has existed since 1816. The mysterious Anson also maintains excellent contacts with governments and secret services.
Philip Harmsdorf: He is David's colleague and friend. He loves life and his job. Harmsdorf is apparently shot while handing over the money.
Production and broadcast
In November 2010, RTL announced that they would be filming an action pilot in Mexico . The shooting took place exclusively on the original locations: In Mexico, for example, the film was also filmed in the underground caves and lakes of Yucatán , the Maya city of Ek Balam , the slums of Mérida and the capital Mexico City . The film was produced on 24 days of shooting in the winter of 2010, the executive production company is UFA . The actress Melina Robert , who is a celebrated soap star in Mexico, can be seen in a supporting role . After IK1 - Tourists in Danger , World Express is the second pilot film shown in September 2011 that RTL had produced and that could have been sent in series if the audience ratings were satisfactory.
The film premiered on September 8, 2011 in prime time on RTL. It reached a total audience of 3.22 million viewers, which corresponds to a market share of only 11.0 percent. In the advertising-relevant target group of 14 to 49-year-olds, only 14.0 percent of the market share was achieved with 1.62 million. In the previous week, IK1 - Tourists in Danger reached a value of 17.1 percent, a series order for World Express therefore seems very unlikely.
At the beginning of 2012 it became known that only IK1 - tourists in danger received an order for further episodes, World Express and Die Trixxer received no orders.
Reviews
"The genre is not being reinvented"
"Less 08/15, more pep - trust yourself, RTL!"
“The series pilot is built according to the scavenger hunt principle, well known from adventure films, in which surprise effects and the viewer's additional knowledge are balanced. Dramaturgically, that's not particularly clever. The action-look-montage mix turned out to be much more attractive, which takes some getting used to with its intentionally cool mannerisms, but which succeeds in mutually enhancing its elements. Above all, the stylish cut belies the weak action pictures. "
“Genre representatives steal whatever it takes. Whether "Tito and Tarantula" music with a lolling lady at the bar in a Mexican bar or trigger-happy gangsters on the roadside - everything has been seen elsewhere - and it is much more appealing (e.g. at Quentin Tarantino). And the kidnapping case as well as the developing storyline about the private life of the main characters develop according to the standard rules of the genre. It was just missing that there was even an Indiana Jones for the poor in the end. "
“No question about it:“ World Express ”is certainly not the reinvention of the adventure genre. Compared to the " IK1 - Tourists in Danger " shown in the previous week, the series is a quantum leap - starting with the characters. Because “World Express” has some. [...] So far the most promising pilot film from the ranks of the new RTL series projects. "
Web links
- World Express - Breathless by Mexico in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- official homepage
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Brandes: "World Express": RTL is shooting a new action pilot in Mexico. Wishlist.de, November 17, 2010, accessed September 9, 2011 .
- ↑ WORLD EXPRESS - PRODUCTION NOTES. UFA , accessed September 9, 2011 .
- ↑ Michael Brandes: RTL commissions the "World Express" in September. Wishlist.de, July 26, 2011, accessed September 9, 2011 .
- ↑ Uwe Mantel: Bad prospects: "World Express" disappoints. DWDL.de , September 9, 2011, accessed on September 9, 2011 .
- ↑ Alexander Krei: "IK1" passes the test, "Trixxer" does not go any further. DWDL.de , January 6, 2012, accessed on January 8, 2012 .
- ↑ World Express - Breathless through Mexico. (No longer available online.) TV Movie , formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 9, 2011 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ World Express - Breathless through Mexico. (No longer available online.) TV Today , formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 9, 2011 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Rainer Tittelbach: TV film "World Express: Breathless through Mexico". Tittelbach.tv, accessed on September 9, 2011 .
- ↑ Torben Gebhardt: The Critics: "World Express - Breathless Through Mexico" (backdoor pilot). Quotemeter.de , September 7, 2011, accessed on September 9, 2011 .
- ^ Christian Junklewitz: World Express: Review of the RTL pilot film. Serienjunkies.de, September 8, 2011, accessed September 9, 2011 .
