Five Minarets in New York (2010) Reviews

• Definitely worth checking

  ukaraca2010-11-06

  I have to say I strongly disagree with Mz Haneke, This is a solid - almost - Hollywood quality action movie bringing up the Islamofoby issue which was probably orchestrated by certain policy makers to create a terrorist enemy that they could use whenever they need one. Story's good, most of the actors acted well, the scenery and the action scenes were very well shot indeed. The terrorist groups looked terrifying to us Muslims as much as they would to Non-Muslims and I believe what is told in the movie really touches to the reality. I watched it as I watched an episode of "24" and I'd like to congratulate all the people involved in the shooting of this film. And please... the multimillion dollar movie "The Expendables" -although I like every actor in that movie very much - were more a disappointment for me for it's storyline and acting. If that was a blockbuster, "Five Minarets in New York" is no less. And yes, I'm not a movie-critic, just a movie-goer but I do have a taste in films, I rarely admire much. Nice work!

• Impressed !!!

  drfkilic2010-11-06

  acting; well done. especially fabulous & flawless Haluk Bilginer;the Hadji, raised the limits of acting, theatrical! There were deep emotional scenes that will never forget. story; first half was so so but the second, perfect finish. never bored, it was fluent. was a great story! actions scenes; first half was unexpectedly good with the help of Hollywood assistance, there were no action scenes in the second half. cinematography; some disturbances was present, story covered it well. could be second looked. vs vs... there were many İslamic message scenes, salving the bad impression over worlds eye. But never disturbing and artificial . I would heartily recommend this movie to everyone; it is the best Turkish, one of the best movies I've seen in years. You will not be disappointed...

• A Magnificent Story of Intolerance, Bigotry, Ignorance and Feud

  claudio_carvalho2011-05-24

  In Istanbul, terrorists abduct executives, blow-up the car of a journalist and plan five great attacks to the city. The violent police officer Firat Baran (Mahsun Kirmizigül) interrogates a terrorist and informs that the responsible for the attacks is the leader code-named Dajjal that lives in New York under the identity of Hadji Gümüs (Haluk Bilginer). In New York, the bigoted FBI Special Agent David Becker (Robert Patrick) is assigned to arrest the well respected religious and family man Hadji, who has a store in Soho, in his apartment in front of his wife Maria (Gina Gershon). The police officers Firat and Acar Dogan (Mustafa Sandal) travel to New York to bring Hadji back to Turkey. While traveling to the airport under the custody of the two Turkish officers, Hadji is rescued by his friend Marcus (Danny Glover) and members of the Muslin community. Then, Firat and Acar are captured and Hadji proposes them to stay with him for a couple of days, and then he would turn himself in and travel to Istanbul with the police officers. Firat and Acar realize that Hadji is a good man, but they are forced to bring him to Turkey. Once in Turkey, Hadji is interrogated and the officers believe that he is innocent. But why Hadji was so afraid to return to Turkey? "Five Minarets in New York" is a magnificent story of intolerance, bigotry, ignorance and feud. The screenplay is very well written without flaws and there are sharp dialogues, like for example, the conversation between Becker and Acar when they are introduced to each other at Becker's office. Further, the film uses few clichés and the plot is absolutely unpredictable. The cast has good performances and the haunting music score is awesome. I decided to see this film with low expectations since the Brazilian title "Terrorismo em Nova Iorque" (meaning "Terrorism in New York") misleads the viewer. The grabber of this movie for me was Gina Gershon, an actress that I like a lot and I have not seen for a long time. She is almost fifty years old and is still a very beautiful woman. In the end I had a great surprise and I have watched a great film. My vote is nine. Title (Brazil): "Terrorismo em Nova Iorque" ("Terrorism in New York") Note: On 25 June 2016, I saw this wonderful film again.

• overrated

  edemir812010-12-12

  The movie is totally overrated. There was a huge media support in the production process of the movie and this still continues. When you read the reviews, you expect to see a Memento, Inception or Seven. The reason for media support is obvious but it is not the right place to discuss. The scenario is very weak. The idea which the plot was constructed lacks rationality. The concern was always giving social messages with the assumption that all audiences are kindergarten students. At the end of the movie, I was totally dissatisfied. Not only in Turkey but also in the world, the hot topic is Islam and terrorism relation. So Mahsun exploits this opportunity with this movie. What about the famous actions scenes of the movie! I accept they are new for Turkish movie industry however you can easily see these scenes in a below-average American movie. Mahsun and Mustafa performed terribly. Is it a must for Mahsun to be in all his movies? In the movie, his voice was like singing an arabesque song.

• Thought I was getting an action movie, turned out to be poorly executed propaganda!

  ecy2010-11-28

  Well they do know how to shoot a trailer. I thought I was going to an action thriller but it turns out I'd paid to watch ill-disguised propaganda for the leader of a religious cult. If you know who I mean you have no reason to see this film; if you don't, and you are interested in that kind of thing, this is a good introduction to a defining feature of modern Turkey. Memorable bits? Mustafa Sandal lecturing Danny Glover on how EU accession negotiations have improved human rights in Turkey was pretty cringeworthy in its defensiveness. And it made no sense whatsoever to dub the English-speaking Americans into Turkish and then have Turkish cop Mahsun Kirmizigul not be able to understand them. But the action sequence at the start with the police suddenly whipping off their burka disguises was pretty cool.