Kajínek

A film that is controversial in the most banal and brutal way I can imagine. A film with a solid momentum, but at the same time with a dizzyingly romanticizing image of Kajínek as a Czech James Bond. It is almost impossible to believe that this person is a member of the Czech underworld, as rather he looks like the post-revolutionary Mirek Dušín. I find that unequivocally questionable. The affected attempt at lyricism also got on my nerves, whether in the overstretched music of Václav Bárta or in the traditionally opulently empty camera of F. A. Brabec. The pinnacle of the movie? A famous and without question riveting performance by Lavroněnko, who made Kajínek into a character with whom the viewer will very easily identify and will feel sorry for/admire... Well? I doubt it. (29/07/2010)

The Czech thriller is quite good, but "Příběh kmotra" was definitely much better and tougher in this regard. Jákl has watched a lot of American productions and approached certain action scenes in a similar way. It's not bad, but in comparison to what is coming out, it simply pales in comparison. On the other hand, it's a demonstration that Czech action thrillers can work. (10/11/2014)

A decently made, but incredibly boring fairy tale, which lacked only a kiss through the bars, which would have made him swoon before the truly hideous song sounding into the closing credits. The direction was helped a lot by Brabec's camera and Vladimír Dlouhý and Michal Dlouhý, but otherwise it was just boring and empty. Even Lavronenko and Vilhelm were not miraculous.__P.S. I don't want to see Václav Bárta and Alice Bendová in any more Czech films, please. One and a half. (15/04/2011)

Jákl has seen a lot of films. This film looks "American" more than anything else, and Czech cinema finally has a real "bad-ass" character (Konstantin Lavronenko!), but making movies about people who the media will make saints out of is kind of immoral. We could have almost finally had a proper Czech genre film without a sour taste in our mouths. 3 ½. (12/11/2010)

The modern visuals of this “shaky”, realistic thriller made in Czech Republic are not tacky. On the contrary, they work well and enhance the experience from a film that doesn’t have much to offer in terms of plot, because it ends at the exact moment when it finally starts to pick up some pace. But that’s not the fault of the screenwriters, but of the Czech police, who were so quick to catch Kajínek and didn’t give him a chance to do more mischief while on the lam :-) The actors are decent and the commercial success that the movie enjoys is admirable. Is it possible that Petr Jákl will make the first truly good Czech action film in the future? If it’s to earn its budget, it would have to use subject matter as attractive as that in Kajínek, which won’t be easy... (27/09/2010)