With Matt LeBlanc in the title role, I'm afraid that I feared the worst as there is certainly a compelling reason for him not appearing in many feature films; one can certainly point a camera at him, but I can't understand why someone would point a microphone at him.
However, his supporting cast certainly props him up well. Eddie Izzard in particular. And Nicolette Krebitz is certainly a delight to look at and someone who seems to be able to act.
In general, this film can't decide what it is. Comedy? Drama? Espionage? There's certainly not a lot of comedy outside of the guys wearing dresses. Then again, Berlin in the dying days of WW2 probably wasn't a whole lot of laughs.
The voice-over/explanation before the film even begins is worthless and should be deleted from all future prints. Yet while the producers seem to want to force this down our throats, they wouldn't spring for sub-titles during the German portions of the film.
The writing is nothing to salute and from people with less-than-noteworthy careers. The directing by Ruzowitzky is noteworthy only in it's lack of noteworthiness. Pretty static and boring.
Not a film to run screaming from, but I wouldn't recommend seeking it out, either.
However, his supporting cast certainly props him up well. Eddie Izzard in particular. And Nicolette Krebitz is certainly a delight to look at and someone who seems to be able to act.
In general, this film can't decide what it is. Comedy? Drama? Espionage? There's certainly not a lot of comedy outside of the guys wearing dresses. Then again, Berlin in the dying days of WW2 probably wasn't a whole lot of laughs.
The voice-over/explanation before the film even begins is worthless and should be deleted from all future prints. Yet while the producers seem to want to force this down our throats, they wouldn't spring for sub-titles during the German portions of the film.
The writing is nothing to salute and from people with less-than-noteworthy careers. The directing by Ruzowitzky is noteworthy only in it's lack of noteworthiness. Pretty static and boring.
Not a film to run screaming from, but I wouldn't recommend seeking it out, either.