Although it is not educational, life and deeds of loafers is found catchy to follow by lots of viewers - apparently "decent" themselves. And the case is better if nasty crimes are not visible and their motive is not personal greed. Gamle mænd i nye biler depicts a story where suspicious measures are taken for the sake of help and remedy. The amount required is huge, time is ticking, and there are dozens of hindrances on the way... As the participants' IQ and moral values are not high as well (mildly speaking),then crazy and funny situations are easy to rise, leading to a logical, but somehow expected ending. Meanwhile, it is pleasant to track the run of events, comprehensions of characters, various action situations; by the way, two chases shown are not worse / less tense than in Hollywood movies. Well, some scenes are knowingly amplified, but they do not become ridiculous.

The cast is evenly strong, particularly Kim Bodnia as Harald, Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Martin (his presence could have been more often),Torkel Petersson as Ludvig, Iben Hjejle as Mille. Actors like them could be savers of much weaker script.

A good entertaining experience, if you like Scandinavian crime thrillers with humorous touch.

I just watched this again for the first time in 15 years. I found it just as good fun second time around. I've spent a lot of time in Denmark so it's worth pointing out that some of the humour here is very Danish. Until you know DK very well, some of their humour doesn't always translate to an English audience. The bit where they meet the Swedish hotel man cracked me up (that's how Danes view Swedes :) so there's also some 'regional' humour going on. It's written, acted and directed well and overall, it's a fun watch with a lot of slapstick style humour. 7/10

The 1999 Danish black comedy In China They Eat Dogs brought an enjoyable gust of fresh air to the often overly serious Nordic cinema. The prequel Old Men in New Cars casts light on the characters' earlier life: Harald (Kim Bodnia) has just been released from prison and owes a large sum of money to a gangster named Ratko (Slavko Labovic) but doesn't let the debt bother him very much. After his dying father figure Munken (Jens Okking) asks Harald to locate his estranged son Ludvig (Torkel Petersson),Harald and his cook friends Martin and Peter (Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Tomas Villum Jensen) and their new inept assistant Vuk (Brian Patterson) come up with a plan to get Ludvig, a multiple murderer with a sensitive side, out of a Swedish prison. While robbing a bank, they also they also become attached to a suicidal woman Mille (Iben Hjejle) who tags along and evokes new kinds of feelings in Ludvig. Next it is time for an elaborate airplane hijacking...

The main difference to the first movie is the absence of the mild-mannered Arvid, arguably the protagonist of In China They Eat Dogs. Instead, the prequel focuses on Harald and his ever-calm attitude to whatever obstacles life drops in front of him. The semi-reluctant Martin and Peter are the same as before, providing a lot of comedy with their awkward insecurity when things get rough and bodies start piling up, not to mention the always hapless Vuk who keeps getting seriously injured as a running gag in both movies. The main charm of the humour still lies in the deadpan delivery of the gang's outrageously implausible schemes, be it a prison break by bungee cord or an airplane robbery with an ambulance.

The action scenes, while not as numerous as in Hollywood blockbusters, are well designed and both entertaining and exciting. Especially the car chase after the bank robbery deserves a special mention, rarely do we get to see such wreckage in any normal Nordic thriller. The actors also do a good job; especially Kaas and Jensen are great as the manipulatable henchmen of the menacing Kim Bodnia, but Iben Hjejle is a joy to watch as well. Even though the absence of Arvid seems disappointing at first, it soon becomes obvious that Torkel Petersson's Ludvig is more than enough to replace him – Ludvig's homicidal tendencies mix with his caring side rather hilariously.

The familiar absurd undercurrent is still strong and the humour and action are in good balance, so those who enjoyed In China They Eat Dogs have no reason to miss out Old Men in New Cars. In the first movie there was a serious theme under the surface, namely a mild-mannered man's desire to be true to himself, and while the prequel feels a bit more straightforward, it also presents a dramatic story about familial love. In any case, both films belong among the best Danish films I have seen in a good while.