Old Men in New Cars Movie Review

I couldn't even get through In China They Eat Dogs, the film to which this serves as a prequel. But maybe I should have given it a bigger chance: Old Men in New Cars is a funny little thrill ride (despite the stupid title) that fans of that Guy Ritchie-fueled, ironic, post-Pulp Fiction action genre will probably get a kick out of.

Dave Attell lookalike Kim Bodnia is Harald, a Danish restaurateur who's fresh out of prison. He returns to his restaurant, which has been being run (sort of) by his inept assistants during his absence, and immediately demands they fry the sushi rolls they've been experimenting with. Harald's a no-nonsense kind of guy, and his abrupt decisions and absurd logic will drive the film forward. That includes a demand for 3.5 million kroner that he's previously borrowed, a jailbreak to help an old friend meet his son before the friend dies, a bank robbery to steal the money he owes the mob, and -- after that fails -- a plane hijacking designed to steal the 3.5 million plus money to buy the dying friend a new liver on the black market.

In many directors' hands, this would be an excuse for one bloody death after another, but Cars actually has surprisingly little gore and an even lower body count. The focus is really on the black humor: When the long-lost son is busted out of jail, it turns out there was an awfully good reason for him to be there, as he's a serial killer of women. Later, the son gets involved romantically with one of Harald's hostages. She's none the wiser that she's constantly on the verge of being murdered.

You know, stuff like that. This is a highly watchable and quite funny movie, and even if Harald's misanthropy starts to wear you down (not to mention the terrible superimposed images that serve as special effects), these New Cars are worth a test drive.

Aka Gamle mænd i nye biler.