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Too much of everything

Better Late Then Never

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Balabanov's Brother 1 and 2 were hailed as one of the most innovative Russian thrillers ever. Unfortunately, "Zhmurki" (Blind Man's Bluff) fails to live up to that same level of achievement despite its talented, visible cast and some colorful characters - always a Balabanov strength.The two main leads are interesting, with Dyuzhev's character being an effective blend of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver and Dim from Clockwork Orange, while Panin is the classical Balabanov thriller hero (Bodrov, Chadov), here in a more sinister incarnation. The first half of the film moves effectively and is interesting, with Mikhailkov providing some good laughs. The second half gets heavily bogged down in one scenario where we begin to see certain thematic and character nods to Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs (i.e. psychopathic behavior set to a pop soundtrack, the lodged bullet, the 'wolf'/accidental medic, and the suitcase belonging to the big boss), with Balabanov's stylistic spin on them. Unlike Tarantino or Scorsese, Balabanov's static use of the camera adds to the boredom in the second half, and it's only thanks to the music that we get some movement. As with other Balabanov films, there is social commentary, esp. the way Stalin's figure is tied into the criminal world. However, it is not as effective as with some of his other films, e.g. Brother 2, War, It Doesn't Hurt Me, and Stoker. Overall, when compared to the Brother films, this is a disappointment, though it will entertain if you don't come to it with the same elevated expectations.

This is one of the best Russian comedies I have seen in a while. Russian comedy can be a bit too subtle or sappy sometimes and as a result not very accessible to the foreign viewer. This movie doesn't have that problem, although it is obvious that a lot of the humor is still lost in the translation, even more so if the movie is dubbed. The comedy is brutal and unapologetic. In fact, there were times that I thought the violence was a bit too much, even for a dark comedy. If you don't have a stomach for violence, you will likely not be able to enjoy this film.Loved Nikita Mikhalkov's performance in this film. I think this is the first comedy I have seen him in and he makes a great comedic actor. The scene between him and the architect was probably the funniest for me. The poor, poor Russian middle class, they have always gotten the short end of the stick.

This movie has one huge problem. There is no plot. None whatsoever. Almost every character (except the main ones) appears on screen for a few minutes to be killed off in the next scene. It is a pity that such an interesting cast is not used in the best way. They simply do not have time to do anything. There are only few moments which are original and funny. Everything else can be categorized as borrowed, someone is getting killed, or some random event is initiated with some transitions in between. It is an action film with lots of killing so you won't be bored. However if you want something more sensible or interesting I recommend watching something else.

I don't expect an excellent movie from Balabanov, but this film is really awful. The only thing that good in it is a wonderful star cast - Nikita Michalkov, Panin, Dugev, Dmitri Pevtsov, Garik Sukachyov and others. That is a reason why I don't give this movie the worst mark.This film contains violence, strong language, blood so It will be better for children not to watch this. But adults, I suppose, will prefer to watch other movies like "Sin City" The is also an unexpectedly end in this film. I don't expect it. As for me this film is rather strange. I think that many people agree with me. To sum up I advise not to spend money for this.