Zero 2 (2010) User Reviews

Nothing great, but watchable

[noriu-balandeliu · 7/10 · 15 March 2010]

While the first Zero film was really something new in the Lithuanian film industry, the second film in the series does not feel all that fresh. To be honest, I expected that this film would keep the good things about the first film and add something deeper, some philosophical point or moral.

What I saw was the plot which followed the same formula as the first film and did not seek to invent something. Add some bad acting, some unanswered questions which I consider to be plot holes (what happened to the Asian guy? Where did he ever come from? Did Max buy implants for his wife? Did the boss ever find out what really happened?), even some mistakes (which are clearly not intended) in spelling, and what you get is what you could expect from a movie created and shot in several months.. It feels rushed, unfinished, and kinda cheap. Which, surprisingly, was not so much felt in the first film. The advertisements in the film are plentiful, but hey, you have to get the money from somewhere, and although I can immediately name 5 companies which advertised themselves in this film, the ads are more in place than in the first feature and spoil the fun much less.

This one really left you with a feeling that another sequel in on the way. Do we need one? I hope that this band of filmmakers is capable of taking new topics and maybe even addressing some eternal questions which arise in good films. There was no such moments when you start to wonder, is the film I am watching really about what I see, like in Pulp fiction when the mysterious case is opened.. Clearly the film was inspired by Tarantino and Ritchie, but they did not continue making gangster films forever.. I hope this will also be the case here. I would love to see this company making a history film or adaptation of a book, as Tarantino and Ritchie did.

The good things. Lithuanian cinema is so bad that things like swearing in the film and non-linear plot are still novelties here. These things are really well used and measured. The jokes are mostly not funny, but the whole situation is fun to watch. There is some potential for this film's crew. Therefore, I have to give a 7 for this film, for its possible legacy in the future.

Pervert!

[dovisto-1 · 7/10 · 15 March 2010]

This movie takes it to the extremes! For some it delivers superbly hilarious experience when one can ignore the senses of vulgarity, dumbed down characters and language overruled by Russian curse words. By just watching it I felt relieved and constrained at the same time. I felt satisfied for the director's eagerness to shock the audiences with brutality and humor at the same time; the fresh look at the filming conception; the new ways of telling the story from different time frames. Sure, foreign film makers have been doing that for years, but looking at our cinema since we're became free of occupation there's nothing too special to tell. Theatrical dramas with static acting and kilometers of dialogs just might make you sick. And this is truly something new and very much appreciated by vast majority of the society. Well, that is one way to look at it. After few starting minutes of Zero, I thought "what's with all that whacked out language?". And it goes for all Zero experience. Understandably the idea was to go over the top in every way possible, but not always it contributes to better value of the movie. This is the kind of the movie, where you leave your brains behind the door to enjoy it. It entertains you with gritty visuals and twisted content. That is also where it comes short. It lacks the depth and power of Ritchie or Tarantino movies. It can be seen that director has achieved new highs but there is also a lot of things that could be done better. So what is this movie to me? Not a masterpiece for sure, but a welcome contribution to Lithuanian film-making and entertaining getaway from reality. It's like that new hooligan in town which is not to be ignored.

Well made, interesting, but hard to stomach

[TdSmth5 · 5/10 · 11 September 2012]

A corrupt cop is hired by some high level mobster to investigate some missing merchandise. He is joined by a colleague who is fighting with his wife over breast implants. The main cop also meets a lady at a gas station who has the hots for him. But she also steals his gun at some point.

Three goofy thugs buy some cop uniforms to steal a briefcase. But things go wrong from the beginning for them. One of them is hit by a car, and on the day of the robbery someone gets ahead of them.

At the very beginning we are given a definition of what a soap opera is. I guess it's somewhat of a warning. The story is told in five acts, but in a non-linear fashion jumping in time and between groups of characters. It turns out that every event in the movie is relevant and every character is somehow connected to the story. In the end all the lose ends are tied, we learn about the woman and the gun, the main mobster, the three goofs, and everyone else. And there sure are a lot of characters in this movie, but not much of a main character. The cop is more of the silent type and while corrupt doesn't do anything outrageous. His sidekick is supposed to be the funny one, but he gets annoying fast. Much is made of breast implants and of a bet whether people will sleep with someone how is married.

Unfortunately this is really done like a long episode of a soap opera. With hysterical screaming non-stop, tons of characters and intricate relationship between them all. For each character we learn something about his/her private life. However, the concentration needed to keep up with everything is hard to maintain given the obnoxious yelling. For better or worse- probably worse- this movie is also meant to be a comedy. While soap operas take themselves too seriously, this movie doesn't at all. And it doesn't help because this movie just isn't funny. While it is marketed as being somewhat extreme in violence (hence it's sold as Shoot 'em Down in some markets), political incorrectness and nudity- it's not even that. There's a bit of violence, one short scene of nudity and some sexist/racist dialog- it's nowhere near to what it could and should have been. This movie could have been a success as a serious cops vs. robbers movie or bad guys vs. really bad guys movie. It has the story and the non-linear telling actually makes it intriguing. But the combination of soap opera elements and comedy doesn't work. Both of the aspects are awful and combined it's a disaster.