BANGER.

I hate Adam Mišík, I hate Czech cinema and I hate filming on a mobile camera. And, world wonder, all my skepticism is gone and the result is much better than I could have expected. It's hard to say if it's because there are (non-)actors instead of Czech actors, so there’s none of that “intense” acting, but natural acting resulting from the situations, or because BANGER is simply bold at first sight. Because to come up with the simple idea of "a budding rapper's path to stardom", with a damn fine performance by Mišík (I applaud him, I didn’t believe in him at all, but he pulled this one off flawlessly), to conjure a literal BANGER out of nothing takes talent. I had a great time and Marsell Bendig as the lead comedian pulls the film from dope drama to comic heights and I had a great time. EDIT: After two days, I have to up it to a full score because the whole film is still resonating with me, from Mišík and his chilling performance to the stunning visuals to the main soundtrack. Unreal. (09/28/2022)

Rap passes me by in a giant arc and I'm not a fan of handheld cameras, yet BANGER. won me over and I was extremely impressed. It's basically one incredibly wild and frantic ride that works almost perfectly from start to finish. A big part of this is the fact that the film is shot on an iPhone and that the action takes place over the course of a few hours. Thanks to the original insertions and the novel visual concept, this is an extraordinary experience in the context of Czech cinema. When it comes to the acting, I was most entertained by Marsell Bendig (I even thought he was Jan Bendig for a good part of the film), he truly amazed with his performance. Towards the end, the film reminded me of Coal Tower, but it was qualitatively on another level. (09/27/2022)

This subculture is completely alien to me, for example, I had no idea about the existence of that funny painted tough guy until Wednesday. The theme and characters of BANGER. went really over my head, but I still have to appreciate that such a film has been made here in Czechia. The screenplay as a whole makes sense (though I have problems with certain details), the performances are fine, and the comedic timing of the dialogue exchanges between Mišík and Bendig is top-notch. I'd ease up on the memes, though. (56th KVIFF) (07/10/2022)

BANGER. is an incredibly frenetically filmed adventure of one night in Prague, and at the same time it is very progressive filmmaking that brings welcome and mainly necessary waves to the otherwise quite stagnant waters of contemporary Czech cinema. I have some minor reservations; I would have cut back on some things and pushed the envelope on others, but all in all it is a high energy ride with dynamism, a distinctive directorial grip and authentic acting. [KVIFF 2022] (07/19/2022)

A bit of a disappointment for me. The overall look of the film is quite amateurish, but that's forgivable. The acting is okay. Adam Mišík's performance is authentic and Marsell Bendig is the best thing about the film, even if he was hard to understand at times. Story-wise, it's simple and I was hoping the film would both be about more characters and go more to the extreme. I was expecting a proper rave party and even in terms of drugs it's not as intense as European or American films. This progressive form is welcome Czech cinema, but a film like Vyšehrad was completely different in every way. 6/10. (03/08/2023)