’60 Minutes’ (2024): The Punching Show, Not the Talking Show

Directed by: Oliver Kienle || Produced by: Quirin Berg, Philip Koch, Maximilian Vetter, Max Wiedemann

Screenplay by: Philip Koch, Oliver Kienle || Starring: Emilio Sakraya, Dennis Mojen, Marie Mouroum, Paul Wollin, Florian Schmidtke, Aristo Luis, José Barros, Vassilis Koukalani

Music by: Michael Kadelbach || Cinematography: Markus Nestroy || Edited by: Maria Gans, Knut Hake || Country: Germany || Language: German

Running Time: 88 minutes

Few things in filmmaking I enjoy more than a simple, scrappy action film with a straightforward, high-concept premise. As long as the central character (re: protagonist) is relatable on some level and/or the villain is an intimidating, memorable presence who is fun to hate (e.g. Bourne [2002, 2004, 2007], The Man from Nowhere [2010], The Raid [2011, 2014], The Night Comes for Us [2018], Kaithi [2019], John Wick [2014, 2023], Extraction [2020, 2023]), I don’t need much else in my action movie other than some practical stunts and the occasional stylistic variety to my action sequences (e.g. mix in gunplay or car chases with a film that’s primarily based on hand-to-hand combat, for example).

A recent German film produced for Netflix that embraces this type of streamlined artistic physicality is Oliver Kienle’s 60 Minutes. Despite its title’s coincidental overlap with the long-running American television news broadcast show on CBS, 60 Minutes the film channels the forward narrative momentum and almost nonstop character movement of the 1990s German classic, Run Lola Run (1998), a genre favorite of mine. Its high-concept premise flaunts the memorable simplicity I love in action flicks, where our protagonist, a professional mixed martial artist (Emilio Sakraya) preparing for a high-profile match, is threatened with the loss of custody of his daughter by his former partner (Livia Matthes) if he doesn’t make good on his absentee, deadbeat dad promise to attend his daughter’s seventh birthday party by 6:00pm, or one hour from the start of the match.

60 Minutes is a fisticuffs-heavy action flick, but it’s got enough cinematographic, diegetic, and screenwriting variety to allow a couple vehicle stunts.

Sakraya must then abandon the fight upon which multiple unscrupulous criminal organizations have wagered large sums of money to sprint across downtown Berlin within the titular timeframe or risk never seeing his child again. As you may suspect, his plans go awry in several ways as the previously mentioned shady characters with financial investments in Sakraya’s mixed martial arts (MMA) performance act as the primary obstacles to attending his daughter’s birthday.

As ridiculous as this premise sounds, its inherent goofiness and dependence on the physical movement of main characters from here to there is what I love about it. Its small yet repeated deviations from that premise, indicative of either wavering screenwriter commitment to the central idea or inconsistent directorial execution thereof, are what I like much less.

When the movie sticks to that straightforward run-and-gun attitude, though, the adventure is a roller coaster. Sakraya runs, jumps, leaps, and yes, punches his way through the Berlin cityscape as mobile Steadicams zoom around him and various supporting characters. Co-writer-director Kienle uses split-screen frames extensively to accelerate character development as well as machine-gun through exposition. This wise decision dovetails with the script’s necessarily limited supporting cast and overwhelming focus on its protagonist; there is no room for an ensemble cast or superfluous minor characters, so as such, you learn every character’s face, if not name, rather quickly and often through the aforementioned split frames.

The fight choreography and staging, which are the main selling points of 60 Minutes, are dominated by foot chases and MMA hand-to-hand combat set to pulsating techno music. A couple noteworthy car stunts spice up the mix, but for the most part, extensive weaponry such as gunplay or melee instruments are almost entirely absent, which makes sense in the world of this film. Top to bottom, the greatest strength of 60 Minutes is how its action sequences drive the narrative forward regardless of their flavor and how the movie feels in perpetual motion.

… except for when it isn’t. The biggest problems with 60 Minutes have to do with how often it interrupts its protagonist’s central race/chase at inopportune moments in what I assume are attempts to give the audience a breather, but given the movie’s 88-minute length, they simply aren’t necessary. Unlike Fury Road [2015], another movie with a similar breathless pace that is also a two-hour marathon encompassing over a dozen key characters, 60 Minutes’ few but significant scenes of standard dramatic dialogue jam the movie to a screeching halt. Worst of all is the forgettable third act finale in a drab warehouse, where all of the film’s major players are reunited for a modest fistfight with one bad guy (Paul Wollin), a sequence that pales in comparison to most every other set-piece.

The film peaks at the close of the second act when protagonist Emilio Sakraya (top) pummels the man he was originally scheduled to fight in the ring, Aristo Luis (bottom), in a classical neon-lit club sequence (see also Collateral [2004]).

I didn’t go into 60 Minutes with high expectations, per se, but its fun inciting incident seemed — and for 2/3 of its runtime, is — the sort of high-concept adventure for which Netflix Original Films are made. It’s also the definition of a purebred genre film and unashamed of its action roots, feeling as if it was ripped from the panels of a pulpy graphic novel thanks to its memorable audiovisual direction and penchant for tasteful split-screen editing. What prevents me from recommending it outright to most audiences, not just fans of its genre, however, is how much it drops the ball in its third act. With a story this slim by design, you gotta be able to stick the landing.

————————————————————

SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION: Action movies with nutty premises always catch my attention due to how cinematic their features often are. 60 Minutes encapsulates that rule for most, though not all of its runtime. To that end, its warm, fuzzy motivations for its protagonist are a breath of fresh air next to all the revenge-driven, angry character arcs of most violent movie protagonists. The fluid camerawork, distinct soundtrack, and memorable locations wrap everything into a good-looking, semi-unique package.

— However… occasionally throughout its first two acts and extensively in its final third, 60 Minutes deviates into standard-issue drama that just doesn’t fit with the film’s central pitch. These changes from 60 Minutes’ overarching rhythm are never as awkward and stilted as, say, Xtreme (2021), but they flirt with that movie’s creaky start-and-stop screenwriting.

—> ON THE FENCE; action fans should check it out, but all others should preview a trailer before taking the plunge.

? What happened to the kitty that Sakraya bought? Where did the kitty go — oh, never mind!