AgentSniff
In the second part of the Pusher saga Nicolas Winding Refn zooms in on Tonny, Frank's buddy from the first film. In the last film Frank choose to beat his friend half to death with a baseball bat. Tonny survived with scars and what seems to be brain damage. Tonny has just come out of jail and struggles with debts, a child he unwillingly fathered with a prostitute and earning the love and respect of his father, the ruthless gangster kingpin known as Smeden. If the first film made Tonny look ridiculous, this makes him right out tragic. Tonny is not a truly bad person, he just douse not know better. He's a kid raised by a prostitute mother and neglected by his gangster father. On his back head he has tattooed the word: RESPECT, but through out the movie he is spit on by everybody except his very sympathetic criminal friend Ø and Milo, the drug-lord from the first film. Smeden has a younger son, Valdemar, with another prostitute and wants to raise the child for himself while the prostitute wants to keep her son.In this film, Refn once again shows the audience the hell of the criminal world. These are people who behave tough on the outside but are nothing more than psychopaths or uneducated people trying to make a living. There is nothing cool about this way of life. Tonny visits the brothels instead of trying a relationship, this habit is shown to be a indirect influence of his father who douse the same. His drug use has rendered him impotent. Tonny manages to make a fool out of himself time after another, is tricked by the loathsome pimp Kusse-Kurt(Kurt the C**t) and is denied any kind of credit by Smeden when he does well in a car-robbery. When his father finally gives him the chance to obtain his love Tonny had to commit a crime far worse than anything he's ever done Tonny instead make the right choice. It's the most positive ending of any of the Pusher films. Tonny does the right thing and redeems himself. The movie ends with the image of Tonny's tattoo, which is the one feeling I feel for him at that moment: RESPECT.Mads Mikkelsen is great as Tonny and puts in all the humanity the part needs. Leif Sylvester gives a performance with many layers and sides. Kurt Nielsen is disgusting as the wicked and cowardly pimp and Zlatko Buric steals his one scene. The original music by Peter Peter and his Bleeder Group creeps under the skin.There is a fantastic lighting in the film with rich colors. On the other hand, the film lacks the nerve of Pusher and Pusher 3. It does not have the same energy and loses on it. But it's far from a bad film. A must see for anyone. And don't forget to see the other parts.
LuxuryJesper
It is hard to make a movie that hits the same atmosphere, and also the same punch and credibility, which was the case with Nicolas Winding Refn's debut movie Pusher. In Pusher II Refn has got his hands on some of the right stuff, the atmosphere is definitely there, also the credibility to some extent. But concerning the punch, Refn has totally missed, which is something the movie suffers from. The story takes place a couple of years after the first Pusher, where we this time aren't following the energetic and macho frank, but the subdues and (in his opinion) slick Tonny. He's just been released after 13 months in prison, where he leaves with a minor debt, to another prison inmate. Without having any idea of how to get the money, he seeks out his dad, Smeden (portrayed by a well performing Leif Sylvester Pedersen), to get a job. Smeden is a respected man in Copenhagen's criminal underworld, who is known for selling stolen cars. Smeden doesn't seem very thrilled to see Tonny, but in the end he is his son, so he agrees to give him a job. But Tonny has got more problems than first assumed, when he gets a visit from a former prostitute, who claims that he is the father to her, a few months old son. Therefore she demands that he takes a paternity test, so see if he actually is the father. And if that is the case, then demand maintenance of him. Tonny gets furthermore mixed himself up in some problems with some unknown kingpins, because of his friend Kusse-Kurt, who (like Tonny) isn't very clever. This forms the foreground history for Pusher II, but the movie isn't even as successful as its predecessor.The main character Tonny, is as mentioned a very subdues person, which is seen in peoples perception of him. Everyone besides his friends treats him very poorly, and considers him a loser. He pretends to not care about this, but deep down it hurts his self-esteem. Because of this, he has a very strong necessitate to show himself off, and has besides of that a strong need for recognition. This is the reason, why he does almost everything people tell him to, and puts up with people calling him various terms of abuse almost constantly. He seems most of all like a dog, who through its whole life has been beaten, and now just obeys orders, to get higher up in the hierarchy. This does that the movie is very "fluctuating", compared to Pusher, where there was a goal, and a manipulating and controlling person steered towards it. Because of this, Pusher II is not very good as a whole. The small loose ends in the story, is in the end supposed to appear as one big problem, which doesn't work after the intention. The movie was made because Refn had money problems, which can be seen. Many of the key things in the story, feels a bit like makeshift solutions, which were put together as fast as possible. I'm most of all referring to Tonny's friend Kurt's problem with the unknown kingpins, which doesn't work in any way after the intention. But in spite of the movies weaknesses, it still has its positive elements. The characters aren't something to cheer for, but concerning Tonny's life, you as a viewer really get the impression of how he is feeling. One of the last scenes, where he is sitting in an apartment and gets smeared, is very convincing. You can feel exactly how he feels, which is due to Mads Mikkelsen's performance. He (in spite of the few work conditions) really puts his stamp on this movie. After a few comical parts in movies like Blinkende Lygter (Flickering Lights) and De Grønne Slagtere (The Green Butchers), he again proves what a brilliant character-actor he is. You really get under the skin of Tonny, and experience how life is for a criminal, who can't find his place in the world. As a sequel to Pusher, the movie isn't worth a lot. But as a single movie, that shows a portrait of the criminal environment, it still detaches itself. The realism that its predecessor had is still very much there, something that doesn't happen a lot in a world, where Hollywood is spitting one unrealistic action film out after the other. So thumbs up to Refn and the actors for a fine drama in the criminal world, and let's hope that Refn continues to make movies as good as this or even better in the future.
fertilecelluloid
Tonny (Mads Mikkelsen), an habitual criminal, is released from prison and makes an attempt to get his act together. Unfortunately, he's become a father while incarcerated and his own old man (Dan Dommer) has virtually given up on him ever growing some balls and staying out of stir.Despite its nod to Hubert Selby Jr. and relentlessly bleak tone, PUSHER II is rather boring and pointless. It plays one note and provides little contrast. For a short subject, that would not be a problem. For a feature, which requires more layers, it's a definite deficit.The scene is which Tonny finally deals with his father is marginally fascinating. Tonny finds a little redemption before close of curtain and hits the road with a ray of hope and a little bundle of joy. Unfortunately, it's not enough to redeem the experience of suffering through so much Good Friday and little Easter Sunday.
stensson
One might wander why we have this obsession for people living the most dirty lives. Why do we bother about those who have no morality at all? They are not like us, although some schools say they are. I doubt it strongly.But the obsession is there, both among film makers and audiences. Maybe it's because it's easy showing conflicts and feelings among those who aren't afraid of such things. The mobster world, in film anyway, is so obvious.Here we have the absolute loser, rather stupid too, who is beyond all respect, although he has that word tattooed on his shaved head. You watch him fall and after he at the end has showed some "courage", you watch him at the complete bottom. There is absolutely no respect left in this world for him. If not...? Well, watch this Danish film to find out.
