Cüneyt Kaya’s "Rising High" is oftentimes consider as the German "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Goodfellas" or a weird white-collar "Mission: Impossible" but, honestly, it's not as close as those greats. Unlike the Scorsese films where the protagonist relates effortlessly to the audience relates in such a personal level, this movie relies on begging so that the viewers will cheer on it's problematic lead to succeed by drowning us with shallow backstory of defeat and trauma.
The movie follows the rise and fall of three con artist. Their leader Viktor (David Kross), a highly charismatic gentlemen, along with I-know-a-lot-of-people Jerry (Frederick Lau) and mortgage broker Nicole (Janina Uhse) hatches a plan to scam people in buying overpriced real estates. Fast pace, most of the time, but slow when it wants to highlight its embellishment; "Rising High" could generate some interesting commentary on virtues and vices, but didn't.
With all honesty though, Kross, Lau and Uhse have enough charm and energy to make this movie watchable. If only they're not given with dragging materials that is so tiresome to watch even before the climax hit and drab characterization (especially for the women in this film), we could have a German heist-like film that might level with Scorsese's body of work.
To simply put, "Rising High" overshoot the opportunities it had to make itself interesting with some low-wattage writing and film making. A crime film that eschew on explaining the logic of its story and relevance to the society, "Rising High" falls right in between mid-level and low-level thrillers. The actors are good but it just doesn't work.
The movie follows the rise and fall of three con artist. Their leader Viktor (David Kross), a highly charismatic gentlemen, along with I-know-a-lot-of-people Jerry (Frederick Lau) and mortgage broker Nicole (Janina Uhse) hatches a plan to scam people in buying overpriced real estates. Fast pace, most of the time, but slow when it wants to highlight its embellishment; "Rising High" could generate some interesting commentary on virtues and vices, but didn't.
With all honesty though, Kross, Lau and Uhse have enough charm and energy to make this movie watchable. If only they're not given with dragging materials that is so tiresome to watch even before the climax hit and drab characterization (especially for the women in this film), we could have a German heist-like film that might level with Scorsese's body of work.
To simply put, "Rising High" overshoot the opportunities it had to make itself interesting with some low-wattage writing and film making. A crime film that eschew on explaining the logic of its story and relevance to the society, "Rising High" falls right in between mid-level and low-level thrillers. The actors are good but it just doesn't work.
1/5
