Crooks Review 2024 Tv Show Series Cast Crew Online
What distinguishes streaming series from those of public broadcasting? Usually at least the ambition and attempt to create something that in the USA is called “Peak TV” – a high-level series with a gripping linear narrative. Marvin Kren , who wrote “Crooks” with Benjamin Hessler and Georg Lippert , certainly has that ambition . But the implementation isn’t all that great.
Charlie is a safe-cracker who no longer wants anything to do with the business because he now has a happy life with his family. But then he is drawn into a new breach, and it becomes increasingly more dangerous. Because it’s not just about two million lying in a safe, but also about a million euro coin that some gangsters from Vienna are after. They head to Berlin to work with their new colleagues. A job that is extremely dangerous…
You get the feeling that Kren and co wanted to practically recreate “ 4 Blocks ” here. Or at least something that resonates similarly with audiences. But despite the good actors, it doesn’t really work. Maybe it’s because of the constantly annoying (and probably incomprehensible for some) Viennese dialects , or maybe it’s just because the whole thing has the insult of an Austrian “crime scene” . That means: “Crooks” never seems believable, everything seems over-constructed , trimmed to be “cool”, and yet it’s not.
It’s nice when Frederick Lau can act in a role that is rarely seen in German films and on television. It’s good too, but that’s despite the narrative pitfalls. Ultimately, it’s not enough if you like Lau. The series drags on over eight episodes . Less would have been more here. Kren actually knows how to tell stories in a condensed manner. His zombie film “ Battering Ram ” has a running time of just under an hour. The first episode of “Crooks” is longer.
Accordingly, there is always the feeling that this series could perhaps have become a somewhat passable film. If you like crime thrillers on a public service level, “Crooks” might be a good choice.
