Eight-part gangster series in which two crooks from Berlin and Vienna are sent on a wild goose chase through Europe.
FAST FACTS:
• New series project from „4 Blocks“ director Marvin Kren
• Produced by Wiedemann & Berg
• Action-packed road trip across Europe
• Strong cast with Frederick Lau, Christoph Krutzler and Svenja Jung
• A parade of guest stars: Georg Friedrich, Kida Khodr Ramadan, Robert Finster
CREDITS:
Country/Year: Germany / Austria 2024; Runtime: 8 x 45 minutes; Creator & Showrunner: Marvin Kren; Director: Marvin Kren, Cüneyt Kaya; Cast: Frederick Lau, Christoph Krutzler, Svenja Jung; Platform: Netflix; Start: April 4
REVIEW:
Marvin Kren expands the perimeter. In the first few minutes of „Crooks“, it feels like you’re on familiar ground. Gangsters in Berlin, Kreuzkölln, the theft of a valuable coin in broad daylight. Frederick Lau is drawn in as Charly, a former crook who, after serving time in prison, has made a fresh start and started a family, but is now under pressure: No is not an option, he is told. You know, you think, „4 Blocks“ redux, right? Not at all. But after just under 15 minutes, Kren opens a second stage, now set in Vienna, an Austrian clan. Drugs, prostitution. But with humor. Christoph Krutzler is Joseph, who is rumored to be the son of „Der Große“ who is dying. He works as a third-row driver and is sent to Berlin to pick up the coin. It goes wrong, of course. Charly and Joseph flee as a twosome, an odd couple, various clans with different goals hot on their heels, always in pursuit of the valuable coin.
„Crooks“ doesn’t waste time. All this happens in the first episode, a lot being packed into a small space, with increasing tension, including an escalation at the end. Seven more episodes follow. Plenty of room to test loyalties, forge new alliances, for friendship and betrayal, trials and tribulations, while Charly and Joseph, two people who can’t trust each other but only have a chance of surviving if they work together, travel across Europe. Or maybe not. You have to think briefly of „Buba“, but only briefly, reflexively. The whole thing has that very special, very unique Marvin Kren flair, a high-quality, solid genre, a constant balancing act between exploding violence and liberating humor, but above all a fight for survival, constantly turning hooks and breaking new ground. Something like „Midnight Run“, only in German, with that tough German aesthetic. And in its own way, of course, much more ambitious, because there’s plenty of space to tell the story in an expansive way and take as many detours as necessary to scrutinize all the players in this game of life and death, to understand their motivations.
And then „Crooks“, like „4 Blocks“ masterfully produced by Wiedemann & Berg, is also always a showcase for its actors, because the story is naturally filled with weird characters and tough cookies that can only be found in the international underworld, played by authentic people. Frederick Lau and Christoph Krutzler make a great tandem. Lau has already been seen in similar roles in „Victoria“, „Ummah“, of course „4 Blocks“ and just recently in „Testo“. But his Charly is much more finely drawn here, his concern for his family is always evident, even when the going gets tough. And Christoph Krutzler, who has already been in front of the camera for Marvin Kren and with Lau in the TV movie „Der weiße Kobold“ and who is best known in Germany for Kren’s series „Freud“, is convincing as someone who has always been in the second tier and now moves into the front row without ever wanting to. And then there is Svenja Jung as Charly’s wife, who grounds „Crooks“ and contrasts the toxic machismo of the gangster plot with a refreshing normality, without showing any weaknesses though. She has her very own adventure to experience in Marseille, where she is supposed to be reunited with Charly.
Many positive things could be said about „Crooks“, which has internalized its world and characters in an impressive way and never gives the impression that Marvin Kren and his co-director Cüneyt Kaya don’t know what they are talking about. Above all, however, it is the great ambition of the eight-parter that impresses: no German production has ever told a gangster story on such a large canvas. The set pieces may feel familiar, but in this epic realization achieve a depth and complexity that constantly surprises. There are no hiccups, the pace is always fast and the pressure is constantly high. We can only hope that many people will talk about this exceptional series, to make sure that a second season gets a green light.
Thomas Schultze