Private Eye Vares (2004) User Reviews

Good detective tale

[tomimt · 7/10 · 20 March 2007]

Vares (Juha Veijonen) is a private eye, who besides boozing tries to look for some lady company, so he could booze some more and chew fat whit his happy alcoholic friends. One day, when he's at military exercise campaign he meets a woman named Eeva (Laura Malmivaara) and gets smitten a bit. But the lady is engaged elsewhere and she soon disappears from his life until a phone rings and soon after that Vares notices, that Eeva is mixed in a jailbreak of a notorious criminal Kraft (Jorma Tommila).

Vares is actually quite good detective story with some good action and great characters. Sadly enough though some of the characters are left so badly in the background, that you soon start to think were they even necessary. The actors are the best Finland has to offer. Every A-list start of Finnish cinema is represented on the screen, which is good, as they nicely fill out the flaws of the script, such as pretty bland dialog.

The directing is good enough, but the editing is a bit choppy in some places, but there's no bigger problems to stop you enjoying the movie.

Good entertainment, but...

[abcdefghmnzx-352-311246 · 6/10 · 24 April 2012]

It is a Finnish film, but I watched it with my foreign friends. It was funny as a Finnish guy, I sometimes see the small problems of Finnish cinema. The problem being dialogue.

But for my foreign friends this was no problem at all. They have no idea how Finnish people act or speak live. They also loved the exotic landscape, which for me of course had become too familiar.

This made think, is this the same for every other nation? Do they see their films in a similar manner, and I looked into it. Apparently in the US most films before the late 60s have a style of acting coming from the theater. After the independent films came Hollywood took a more down to earth style of acting like from real life. Now it is the norm.

In Finnish cinema you can still the heavy impact of the fact that most actors come from theater. Perhaps people are almost expecting it.

However putting that aside it still a good detective thriller in Finland. I would recommend it especially to foreigners, as it was quite a hit in Finland itself. Also what I found funny in this film did not go down too well with especially the Indians (we watched this film as we have a club with my work buddies, where we watch films from our native countries). The two guys from India found the film almost too dark, I don't wonder why as we had to watch a bollywood film two times ago when we met. It was horrible...

Funny how these cultural features come into play with films. I would hope that the cinema-complexes would show more foreign films. Perhaps they don't sell too good, but perhaps the consumer needs to become more aware. For example after this film some of the guys told me that my dark jokes were similar to what's in this film. Next time I'm going to show them some Kaurismaki... I mean this film is a little more commercial than Kaurismaki (he's style is unique, and the theater thing is not valid).

Overall good film, and we should thank Markus Selin for his constant good work in producing these!

A detective story- finish style!

[LG rules · 13 September 2004]

Aleksi Mäkelä, the director of excellent Häjyt and Pahat pojat, offers us an hour and a half of great and stylish entertainment. The title character Vares (Juha Veijonen) is a finish detective who sets out to help a woman named Eeva (Laura Malmivaara)in her dangerous pursuit for Russian mobs money. Based on the book of finish novelist Reijo Mäki, this movie really boasts on great characters. Vares himself is a good guy, mostly hanging in his favourite pub with his boozing buddy Luusalmi (Markku peltola) in his spare time. A Mäkelä regular Samuli Edelmann portraits a tough cop working on both sides of the law. Then there's the hilarious killer duo Hillosilmä- Munck and Tetsuo Sinkkonen played by Pekka Valkeejärvi and Kari Hietalahti. Director Jari Halonen is surely one the most devilish criminal in finish movie history as lurid Karl E. Miesmann. Good supporting cast also include Minna Turunen, Jorma Tommila and Santeri Kinnunen. Not just a detective story, but also a black comedy and good old fashioned action movie as well this one's probably the finest pop-culture movie made in Finland in 2004. Good work, keep on rockin' guys!

Fine Finnish crime story

[Lenitas · 10/10 · 12 September 2005]

"Vares" was shown during Germany's "Fantasy Filmfest" - an international film festival of fantasy, horror and film noir - and I got to watch it. I'd been looking forward to seeing a Finnish movie with English subtitles rather than the other way round (yes, I'm easy to please sometimes) but in addition to being Finnish, the movie is also QUITE good! I didn't find anything to complain about, be it the acting, soundtrack or conversations. I had a good laugh, so did my friends, and the audience applauded in the end.

The movie is exciting/tense, funny, well-paced, has some heavy action without being too violent, and you just have to love the characters.

I don't know whether this was a one timer, since there are more Vares books, I hope they produce a sequel some time in the future.

Best Finnish actionmovie of all times

[tonywerner · 8/10 · 29 July 2004]

I have read all "Vares"-books by Reijo Mäki and I'm a huge fan. When I heard that there will be movie about Vares and Juha Veijonen will portray him, I was excited. The movie was not a disappointment. Story follows quite exactly the book, but one thing makes me wonder. The jokes from the book were dismissed and screenwriter Pekka Lehtosaari has written a whole bunch of new ones. Well, maybe that's not bad at all. Anyway, the characters are marvelous - never before in Finnish movie has been so many superious characters - and casting for them just fantastic. Especially Jari Halonen as ruthless Miesmann and Kari Hietalahti as half finnish/half Japanese hit-man Tetsuo Sinkkonen. And of course Juha Veijonen in the title-role. Laura Malmivaara is also fantastic - as are almost every actor in this movie. Aleksi Mäkelä is number one action-director of Finland and he won't let us down this time around. The soundtrack is also fine. I'll give VARES 9/10.

Pretty crappy

[SPaS · 18 July 2005]

This film insists on hooking into everything that is wrong with Finnish cinema today and dragging them behind. It would really be easier to tell what they happened to get right with this movie

editing and cinematography a total of 1 joke(s). Has to do with an 'adult' chocolate candy. And that's it

Does film school make you stupid? When there are like dozens or a hundred people working weeks and months on a rather big project, doesn't anyone, I mean ANYONE of them see that something is horribly wrong? Who the heck greenlighted that... that "script" in the first place!? Worthy a razzle, and on top of that the acting is so-so, 90% of the characters are stupid (stolen from better American films) and so on. A movie about a private eye that lacks suspense and especially ACTION. Not sure if there was a point though, cause I had a hard time sitting it through as it was, let alone start THINKING about it.

Mr. Selin, Mr Mäkelä - stick to dramas if you don't once in a blue moon dare to try some SERIOUS man-to-men-combats, gunplay, explosions, car chases, wrestling with sharks and avalanches. I understand that to you they must be "subversive over-commercial and over-used Hollywood double cheese" because you try hard to be a "serious film-maker in the best traditions of the man-oriented intelligent high-brow European cinema" but hey, look who's making box office? Hint: financially back up those guys who made the straight-to-DVD "Ukkonen" a few years back. Minus the idiot director of course. See what happens. Here's a suggestion for the title and a tagline

ONE MILLION SQUIBS "Plot? What plot?"

Surprisingly good!

[BeneCumb · 8/10 · 8 July 2013]

Usually I am not into Finnish films with comic undertones as I probably do not comprehend the finesses of Finnish humour: I find it too straight and plain. But I as like crime films, Nordic ones in particular, I decided to watch Vares – yksityisetsivä and was pleasantly surprised. This first Vares-film has strong and logical plot, and despite strong references and links to Tarantino's and Ritchie's films, the latter neither became annoying nor seemed a poor imitation of big masters' ideas. The actors are good, characters elaborated, and the ending is versatile and includes unexpected twists. The 1 hours 25 minutes pass splendidly and make you want to see the rest of the Vares-films as well (although the sequels are seldom as good or better).