VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

angelsunchained This movie was a snore bore. I was falling to sleep seconds into the movie. Bring your pillow and twenty cups of hot black coffee to stay awake. A dull, listless and boring deadbeat gets out of prison, runs in races and for fun robs banks. All he does the entire film is stare off into space and utters thirty words the whole movie. Somehow, without any words said, and without even a smirk, the robber manages to start a love affair with a beautiful woman who is as boring and dull as he is. The whole film is flat and boring. It has no life to it. It tries to take itself too seriously. A real stinker. Pass the no dose, I am about to fall to sleep.

Robyn Nesbitt (nesfilmreviews) Adapted from Dennis Prinz's novel, which is based on real events, "The Robber" has all the elements of a penetrating character study. Unfortunately, director Martin Heisenberg doesn't always use those elements to his advantage. The story is about Johann Rettenberger, an Austrian bandit/marathoner known as "Pump-gun Ronnie." Heisenberg takes a muted, non-psychological approach to his story, and without much in the way of emotional engagement, keeping viewers engaged is certainly more challenging than need be.Andreas Lust stars as Johann Rettenberger, a serial bank robber who has spent a six- year bid in prison training as a long-distance runner. After being released from prison, Johann runs into Erika (Franziska Weisz) at the Job Center which helps ex- cons find work. The dialogue makes it clear they've met before, but the narrative annoyingly withholds any connection to their past. Why is the beautiful, well-to-do Erika so drawn to this emotionally distant career criminal?Ultimately, Johann returns to Vienna and combines his two true passions and what he knows best -- running and knocking over banks. His dominance on the marathon circuit gets him noticed, as does his daylight bank heists. Notoriously referred to as "Pump-gun Ronnie," after the Ronald Reagan mask he wears and the shotgun he brandishes. To this day, Rettenberger still holds the record time in the Bergmarathon, a world-famous marathon held in the Austrian Alps.Frustratingly, we never really get a sense of who Johann is or what motivates him. He is expressionless, cold-hearted, and remains distant throughout. Heisenberg's treatment vividly communicates Rettenberger's neurotic defiance and destructive behavior, but that's no substitute for enabling the viewer to become invested in the character's fate. Johann does not let people into his life, and is a blank cipher as to why he leads the life of a bank robber. It is clearly not the money. Maybe it's the rush he gets, or maybe it is an unexplained obsession. The filmmaker leaves it for the viewer to decide. Although Heisenberg tries to suggest the robberies provide Johann with an adrenaline rush similar to that he experiences while running marathons, the character fails to show any sense of pleasure or catharsis that would make this parallel interesting.Technical aspects of the film are highly impressive, and the incorporation of Johann into actual Vienna Marathon provides a real sense of authenticity. As a matter of execution, the film's last act is undeniably thrilling. Exceptional work by steadicam operator Matthias Biber gives all the chases and action sequences a visceral energy. "The Robber" could have been a great representation of compulsive behavior. As is, it is a rigid film that is technically sound with a fascinating lead protagonist we still know nothing about.

SeussMeTub Most fans of Hollywood movies will probably not like this film because it doesn't contain massive explosions or a bombastic soundtrack (in fact it practically has none) but this stunner (based on the story of a real life bank robber) is one of the great thrillers of the decade. A sleek, sparse study of existentialism, THE ROBBER is a must see.It begins rather abruptly, the first scene is a man named Johann (superbly played by Andreas Lust) running in what seems like a training center, but as soon as the camera pans back we realize he is in a prison and is about to be released after serving a 6 year sentence. As the story unfolds Johann is set free where he begins to win marathons but leads a double life as he returns to his old habits of stealing cars and then using them as getaway vehicles for his bank robberies.As with European cinema, much of the pacing and characters are understated, there are times when nobody says anything but from the background noises and the looks on their faces you can clearly tell what they are thinking. Even though the few people he knows (his former girlfriend, his parole officer) deeply cares for him and pulls strings to get him to live a normal life it's clear that he does not want any of it. Johann just wants to rob banks and run because that is all he is. The whole movie takes place in Austria, the land of Heidi and Vienna coffee houses but with the movie being portrayed through Johann's eyes, Austria seems bleak, detached and robotic to make it look almost unbearable to be living in; while there are other characters in the story, they seem to be nothing more than minor twinkles in Johann's eye- he does not care for them and it almost seems like they are ghosts to him.There were some professional critics that lambasted this movie for not revealing Johann's motivation on why he is what he is. But what they don't understand is that it really doesn't matter. Some people do things because it's the one thing (or two in Johann's case) that gives them meaning- everything else is of no consequence. I find the main protagonist/antagonist of this movie to be a combination of Johnny Depp's John Dillinger in PUBLIC ENEMIES and Barry Newman's Kowalski in VANISHING POINT. They exist only to do the one thing that matters to them and that's it.

ihrtfilms I went to this on a whim and I'm glad I did. The Robber is a tight and tension filled thriller based on real events of a convicted bank robber who released from prison goes on a new crime spree. The film is in a way quite quiet in that there is little dialogue, but we don't really need too much talk as we get enough visually.Johann is neither a likable person nor is a crazed criminal psychopath which leads the viewer to a unusual predicament in that you start to almost barrack for him. He never hurts anyone, just robs banks and in the interim goes running in marathons. In his face mask and plain clothes, he doesn't even look like he'd hurt a fly. Of course things turn nasty and caught up in the picture is a woman Erika, she, like the audience as events get worse are left with the moral dilemma of choosing an outcome for Johann. Should he get away with it or be caught and serve time? Johann himself never really expresses any real emotion so there is little to understand why he should do what he does, but this adds to the film as it gives the audience more intrigue without throwing in too many questions.Stylishly the film looks great, some beautiful scenery during one of the marathons are great. And then there are the running sequences, Johann runs a lot, to bank robberies, from robberies and then just for the hell of it. Director Benjamin Heisenberg uses some great camera work to follow Johann on these runs and in one sequence when he is chased by a cop car through a car park, the editing is effective enough to create a tense exciting sequence. The films ends with quietly, in some ways rather sadly, but others may find it a little too predictable. However the film is a great piece of work that makes the audience question itself and it's attitude towards others.More reviews at my site iheartfilms.weebly.com