I was tremendously disappointed by this film. The idea of a perfect car, that didn't need petrol, being kept under wraps ready to become THE world car, seen in every country but then being hijacked by people with a vested interest in seeing it disappear should have been gripping. It wasn't. The entire film was an incoherent, noisy mess and some of the dubbed voices were so flat it was impossible to believe in the characters. Juergen Prochnow, who obviously did his own dubbing, spent most of the movie in a thoroughly surly mood - much how I felt after I'd seen it - and lacked his usual charisma although he rushed around very convincingly. The movie was too long, and by the end I really didn't care what happened to the car, Prochnow or the ideals behind it all. Maybe it lost something in the translation, but for me it completely missed the mark. Don't bother unless you're desperate to see Prochnow and/or Senta Berger get their clothes off.
6 Reviews
ill-conceived thriller
SMK-421 September 2009
The central plot idea of a non-petrol-based car whose development is being sabotaged by vested interests from the oil industry is a good one. (The title refers to the killing OF cars, rather than to cars that kill.) However, it does not make ideal material for an action thriller, and that is exactly what director Verhoeven attempted here.
As a result there are quite a few unlikely moments in the film where my capacity to suspend disbelief was overstretched. In particular, way too much importance was given to that one example of the World Car, as if Korda had built that thing himself, entirely instinctively using a hammer and a soldering iron - and setting issues such as rights to intellectual property completely aside.
The film tries very hard to look stylish, in a very 1980s sort of way, and from a modern perspective some of this looks a bit silly: wearing sunglasses at night, Backgammon as a game that separates the men from the boys, etc.
As a result there are quite a few unlikely moments in the film where my capacity to suspend disbelief was overstretched. In particular, way too much importance was given to that one example of the World Car, as if Korda had built that thing himself, entirely instinctively using a hammer and a soldering iron - and setting issues such as rights to intellectual property completely aside.
The film tries very hard to look stylish, in a very 1980s sort of way, and from a modern perspective some of this looks a bit silly: wearing sunglasses at night, Backgammon as a game that separates the men from the boys, etc.
Dull, over-plotted corporate thriller
jrd_735 October 2014
Killing Cars is the first film I have watched from Fuel-Injected Films Twenty Movie Collection DVD (also released as Collision Course) put out by Mill Creek. I hope that some of the remaining nineteen are better.
Killing Cars begins well, night, neon, and fast cars. I immediately thought of Diva and Subway, two much better examples of 80's Euro-noir. My expectations did not last long. This is a talky, over-plotted film about corporate espionage. Jurgen Prochnow plays Korda, an independent car manufacturer working with a car company to create a safe car. Korda starts getting the impression that he is being forced out of the project. Meanwhile, the car company is evicting squatters from its unused grounds. Those evicted include a gang of punk rockers who want revenge. There is more, an inquisitive reporter, a plot to con Korda out of his business, and William Conrad as another uncertain plot thread to further complicate things. There is way more here than needed, but most of it comes together when the safe car is stolen.
In spite of the neon ambiance and the girl with the adorable pink Mohawk, Killing Cars is a slow drive to nowhere.
Killing Cars begins well, night, neon, and fast cars. I immediately thought of Diva and Subway, two much better examples of 80's Euro-noir. My expectations did not last long. This is a talky, over-plotted film about corporate espionage. Jurgen Prochnow plays Korda, an independent car manufacturer working with a car company to create a safe car. Korda starts getting the impression that he is being forced out of the project. Meanwhile, the car company is evicting squatters from its unused grounds. Those evicted include a gang of punk rockers who want revenge. There is more, an inquisitive reporter, a plot to con Korda out of his business, and William Conrad as another uncertain plot thread to further complicate things. There is way more here than needed, but most of it comes together when the safe car is stolen.
In spite of the neon ambiance and the girl with the adorable pink Mohawk, Killing Cars is a slow drive to nowhere.
A real dreary slog
Woodyanders17 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Cocky and high strung inventor Ralph Korda (a grouchy and unappealing Jurgen Prochnow), who has created an environmentally friendly car that doesn't run on gas, finds himself the target of various powerful car manufacturers after he supplies a German automaker with a prototype for testing.
Sounds pretty cool and exciting, right? Well, it just ain't, thanks to Michael Verhoeven's overly ostentatious direction (this whole movie has the self-consciously flashy'n'trashy glowing neon look of a vintage 80's music video complete with lots of hazy back lighting and hyperactive camera-work), a convoluted and meandering narrative that gets bogged in way too much dull talk, a pounding rock soundtrack that's more headache-inducing than rousing, atrocious dubbing, and, worst of all, an arrogant brooding jerk of a main character who's impossible to either like or care about. Senta Berger mostly just stands around as smitten secretary Marie Landauer while William Conrad adds some much needed (and appreciated) rip-snorting vitality as jolly auto magnet Mr. Mahoney. A messy subplot involving an angry gang of punks on a destructive rampage primarily gets in the way of the central story and although the occasional wild car chases are well staged, they overall don't add much to the picture. Drab and heavy-handed, it's basically a stinker.
Sounds pretty cool and exciting, right? Well, it just ain't, thanks to Michael Verhoeven's overly ostentatious direction (this whole movie has the self-consciously flashy'n'trashy glowing neon look of a vintage 80's music video complete with lots of hazy back lighting and hyperactive camera-work), a convoluted and meandering narrative that gets bogged in way too much dull talk, a pounding rock soundtrack that's more headache-inducing than rousing, atrocious dubbing, and, worst of all, an arrogant brooding jerk of a main character who's impossible to either like or care about. Senta Berger mostly just stands around as smitten secretary Marie Landauer while William Conrad adds some much needed (and appreciated) rip-snorting vitality as jolly auto magnet Mr. Mahoney. A messy subplot involving an angry gang of punks on a destructive rampage primarily gets in the way of the central story and although the occasional wild car chases are well staged, they overall don't add much to the picture. Drab and heavy-handed, it's basically a stinker.
Meandering
Leofwine_draca22 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
KILLING CARS is a German thriller which offers a starring role for DAS BOOT's Jurden Prochnow. The story is slow and meandering and resolutely non-exciting despite all attempts to make it otherwise. Our hero plays a guy who comes up with an idea for a revolutionary vehicle only to find himself targeted by corporate villains desperate to get their hands on his patent. Senta Berger, the former starlet of Italian comedies, plays in support, no surprise given her marriage to director Michael Verhoeven. William Conrad has a cameo. This film barely qualifies as a thriller at all and feels more like a cheap Hollywood knock-off than anything else.
Too fictitious for my taste
Horst_In_Translation7 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Killing Cars" is a West German German-language film from 1986, so it has its 30th anniversary this year. The writer and director is Michael Verhoeven who had decent success (including an Oscar nomination) with some of his Nazi-themed film in his long career. This one here is nowhere near his most or least known works, but maybe one of the films by him that weren't received that well overall. I am not sure if the cast is to blame. I like Prochnow and he is very talented for sure and there are other somewhat famous cast members in here like Senta Berger. Maybe the script is the problem. The title already gives away that this is a car-themed film. And it is basically about automobiles that are environmentally-friendly, which is something that is a pretty progressive topic and has parallels to the car industry today. But it's much more radical. The people who make lots of money from oil are not willing to accept that they will have huge losses and the consequence is every economy-related crime you can think of, even murder. Money makes the world go round, right guys? The movie runs for slightly over 90 minutes, but I guess there's different versions out there as here on IMDb it is listed at 105 minutes almost. All in all, I think the political context and the whole premise were fairly interesting, but the elaboration in detail and also the characters just did not make it a compelling watch. I also felt that the film went over-the-top on too many occasions (also in terms of acting) and that hurt the overall outcome quite a bit. Thumbs-down from me. Not recommended.
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