Sorry, this movie sucks

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

"Deadlock" is a German English-language film from 1970, so it had its 45th anniversary last year. The writer and director is Roland Klick and after having seen his most known works basically, he really does not feel German at all in his approach to filmmaking. This is neither a positive nor a negative statement, but it is a negative statement that most of his works did so little to me, so I guess his success with awards bodies is mostly due to him really being somewhat different compared to other filmmakers from his country. Here he unites Mario Adorf, Marquard Bohm (brother of Hark) and Scottish actor Anthony Dawson ("Dr. No") for a German western movie. Quite a challenge. All in all, I must say not a successful challenge unfortunately. I would not really blame any of the acting trio, but the writing mostly. Adorf was probably the standout here and his strong physical approach to acting as well as his whole looks thing fit perfectly into the world of western movies. Had he been American and not Swiss, he may have ended up as one of the huge stars of the genre. Bohm was almost entirely wasted in my opinion, especially from that moment on when it became a three-man show and not a two-man show. He really did not manage to hold his own against the other two and he also did not have the material, so it is really difficult to understand and appreciate the ending with him being the great winner. Dawson did fine with what he was given, but it was all too generic and stereotypical in my opinion. His sadistic approach got old really quickly and the longer it went on, the more it just became a film lacking any action except Adorf's character being pushed around and humiliated by Dawson's. Quite a shame. I felt that Klick had a lot more at his hands to make this a good film, the potential is there, but the execution is just so underwhelming that I would only really recommend it to the most die-hard western fans. Then again, these may be the most disappointed here. Still, to end the review on a more positive note, another thumbs-up for Mario Adorf channeling his own Eli Wallach while looking a lot like Bud Spencer. But a thumbs-down for everything else. I don't recommend the watch.

Deadlock is a metaphysical western filmed in a dust-trap out in the Negev desert. It's an effective homage to Leone though very much its own film as well. A couple of guys pull off a heist and make their separate ways out to the desert to hole up until attention has died down. There are three inhabitants of the small mining town, Dump who has some sort of caretaker role in relation to the disused mine, Jessy a young girl, and Corinna, an older lady, each waltzing with their own personal oblivions, as crazy as you like. There's a cartoonish element to most murder in the movies, but the first part of this movie rather emphasises how difficult it is to kill someone, how you have to go against all the hardwiring in your head that says not to. So when the violence does happen, it hits home pretty hard. It's a tough movie, with no happiness at all, filled with loneliness, and it sort of hints at the impossibility of friendship and the abject selfishness baked into us all. For me it felt like watching it was a spiritual exfoliation.

In 1970, it seems as if Roland Klick set out to emulate Sergio Leone's "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly", mixing it with Michelangelo Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point" to create a modern Sauerkraut Western (without horses, but rather a truck and a car). The story stars three characters, Marquard Bohm as the "Kid" (The Good), Siegurd Fitzek as "Mr. Sunshine" (The Bad), and Mario Adorf (can be seen in Dario Argento's "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" as the reclusive cat eating painter) as "Mr. Dump" (The Ugly) (who again plays a reclusive man who lives in a dump??). The story begins with the Kid, who has just pulled off a heist (with a bullet wound in the arm), and is carrying millions of dollars in a case. Wandering aimlessly through the sunbaked desert, (he finally passes out and is left for dead) until Mr. Dump drives along and finds him and the money. Once back at Mr. Dump's residence (a sort of abandoned junk yard), the Kid warns Mr. Dump, that Mr. Sunshine (who apparently is the ringleader of this heist) will be coming for his money. Thus begins the cat and mouse story, of who will get the case of money. Mr. Dump also has two neighbors, an older (and apparently sexually crazy) woman and her pretty (but feral) daughter (who is obviously sexually curious of the Kid).The film is set in (what looks to be) a wasteland desert, which could have been a forerunner for films like "A Boy And His Dog" and "Road Warrior". Yet the film maintains a complete Sergio Leone feel to it. You get all the great close ups of the characters sweating in the sun, and the typical double crossing that took place in his westerns. The Kid in this movie also kind of resembles Charles Bronson's character in Leone's other masterpiece "Once Upon A Time In The West". But on the flipside, this film also kind of reminded me of Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point", in the surreal desert filming. Also the use of Kraut Rock band "Can", who's music score, will remind one of Pink Floyd's music score for Antonioni's film. The inspired use of Can, as the music score was a great choice, because though at times it does remind you of Pink Floyd, it also reminds me of Ennio Morricone's music score as well. The Kid's theme song seems to be "Whiskey Man" by Can, and this reminds me of the way you hear that unforgettable Clint Eastwood whistling theme, or the accompanying harmonica for Charles Bronson. Can's score embodies both stylizations perfectly. The film is pretty obscure, and there was very little information, that I could find on it. But it's worth searching out if you have an interest in different cult type movies from the late sixties, or an interest in Can. But the pacing is a little uneasy and the finale was a tad unclimatic (yet somehow downbeat). Though it's a German production, the English dubbing will remind you of the Spaghetti Westerns as well. Cool, but very weird.

"Deadlock" came as something of a surprise as I only bothered to hunt down a copy because of the inclusion of Can on the soundtrack. While Can's contributions are quite notable -- their music works perfectly with the stark imagery -- the film itself holds up quite well on its own. Shot almost entirely in the desert, the filmmakers make use of the threadbare environment and utilize it to heighten the sense of isolation and persecution which propel the characters of the film. Slightly overlong at 92 minutes, "Deadlock" is nevertheless well worth investigating.