Although it is not educational, life and deeds of loafers is found catchy to follow by lots of viewers - apparently "decent" themselves. And the case is better if nasty crimes are not visible and their motive is not personal greed. Gamle mænd i nye biler depicts a story where suspicious measures are taken for the sake of help and remedy. The amount required is huge, time is ticking, and there are dozens of hindrances on the way... As the participants' IQ and moral values are not high as well (mildly speaking), then crazy and funny situations are easy to rise, leading to a logical, but somehow expected ending. Meanwhile, it is pleasant to track the run of events, comprehensions of characters, various action situations; by the way, two chases shown are not worse / less tense than in Hollywood movies. Well, some scenes are knowingly amplified, but they do not become ridiculous.The cast is evenly strong, particularly Kim Bodnia as Harald, Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Martin (his presence could have been more often), Torkel Petersson as Ludvig, Iben Hjejle as Mille. Actors like them could be savers of much weaker script.A good entertaining experience, if you like Scandinavian crime thrillers with humorous touch.

The 1999 Danish black comedy In China They Eat Dogs brought an enjoyable gust of fresh air to the often overly serious Nordic cinema. The prequel Old Men in New Cars casts light on the characters' earlier life: Harald (Kim Bodnia) has just been released from prison and owes a large sum of money to a gangster named Ratko (Slavko Labovic) but doesn't let the debt bother him very much. After his dying father figure Munken (Jens Okking) asks Harald to locate his estranged son Ludvig (Torkel Petersson), Harald and his cook friends Martin and Peter (Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Tomas Villum Jensen) and their new inept assistant Vuk (Brian Patterson) come up with a plan to get Ludvig, a multiple murderer with a sensitive side, out of a Swedish prison. While robbing a bank, they also they also become attached to a suicidal woman Mille (Iben Hjejle) who tags along and evokes new kinds of feelings in Ludvig. Next it is time for an elaborate airplane hijacking...The main difference to the first movie is the absence of the mild-mannered Arvid, arguably the protagonist of In China They Eat Dogs. Instead, the prequel focuses on Harald and his ever-calm attitude to whatever obstacles life drops in front of him. The semi-reluctant Martin and Peter are the same as before, providing a lot of comedy with their awkward insecurity when things get rough and bodies start piling up, not to mention the always hapless Vuk who keeps getting seriously injured as a running gag in both movies. The main charm of the humour still lies in the deadpan delivery of the gang's outrageously implausible schemes, be it a prison break by bungee cord or an airplane robbery with an ambulance.The action scenes, while not as numerous as in Hollywood blockbusters, are well designed and both entertaining and exciting. Especially the car chase after the bank robbery deserves a special mention, rarely do we get to see such wreckage in any normal Nordic thriller. The actors also do a good job; especially Kaas and Jensen are great as the manipulatable henchmen of the menacing Kim Bodnia, but Iben Hjejle is a joy to watch as well. Even though the absence of Arvid seems disappointing at first, it soon becomes obvious that Torkel Petersson's Ludvig is more than enough to replace him – Ludvig's homicidal tendencies mix with his caring side rather hilariously.The familiar absurd undercurrent is still strong and the humour and action are in good balance, so those who enjoyed In China They Eat Dogs have no reason to miss out Old Men in New Cars. In the first movie there was a serious theme under the surface, namely a mild-mannered man's desire to be true to himself, and while the prequel feels a bit more straightforward, it also presents a dramatic story about familial love. In any case, both films belong among the best Danish films I have seen in a good while.

First off, i am surprised by people disapproving this movie on the grounds of the humour being at times unethical. The purpose of black humour is just to be able to laugh at matters that are usually considered outside of jokes, such as serious illness, or even murder - otherwise it would be _plain_ humour, and not _black_ humour ;)?Spoilers (i wouldn't say so, but be warned anyway..) That said, this movie is stuffed with black humour, and amazing dialogue. Actionmovies (not the official genre of the movie, but still its action-packed) made to happen in Scandinavia aren't really realistic, so its a good thing this movie realizes this, and just as well exaggerates the whole thing - and makes it all even more hilarious. I also enjoyed the linguistic humour, concerning the communication problems between the Swedish and the Danish, something lots of Scandinavians would recognize themselves in. See, we're supposed to understand everything that we all say, but its not always that easy ;)Now, i haven't seen "In china they eat dogs" yet, but I'm planning to, so i cannot really compare the two movies. But this movie alone, is absolutely recommendable if you enjoy black humour, and especially if your curious about how we sound up north :)

Yesterday I had the chance to see "Old Men In New Cars" at the Filmfest Hamburg. What a great movie. I hope this film will come into cinemas soon. This is supposed to be a prequel to "In China They Eat Dogs" but it stands very well on its own. The characters we already know from "In China They Eat Dogs" are the same as is the weird, black humor. It lacks the two supernatural beings from the first film, but you don't really miss them. On the other hand, there is more action and more violence in it than in "In China They Eat Dogs". And it is really funny. When I think about some of the scenes, I still have to laugh.---Possible spoilers ahead---The film is about Harald, who, just released from jail, wants to fulfill the last wish of his dying foster father: He wants to see his son. Of course nobody knew he actually had a son. The son, Ludvig, sits in a Swedish jail. So our heroes Harald and his two cooks, and Vuk of course, get him out of jail only to learn, that he is a serial killer that starts his "obsession" as soon as he gets the chance. And then, of course, there are our Croatian friends, this time all dressed in black T-shirts with a double-headed eagle on the front and huge (and I mean HUGE) golden necklaces, whom Harald owes money. Harald also needs money to get his foster father a liver transplant in Southern America to save his life. After a bank robbery which fails, the Croatians suggest he rob an airplane while it is about to take two containers with money on board. Now just imagine a deadly sick old man, who is drugged with opium and the last time he flew a plane was about 40 years ago, on the control stick, and the police trying to stop the plane... anybody who is afraid to fly should close his eyes during that scene or you'll never get in a plane again. Absolutely hilarious. And the tricks they used in that sequence are really good. As are the car stunts.There are several dead bodies, lots of car crashes, the Swedish get their share, the plans our heroes try to carry out are totally impracticable, but they do it anyway and somehow they succeed with them (well, almost), and in the end, everybody is happy. Well, most of them.I hope this film gets released Europe wide soon, because I have to watch it again. Great entertainment, though not for the whole family.