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Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017) - Film review by KadmonMayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)
image © Bubble Studios (Bubble Comics)

Article updated: 2022.02.09

The Major Grom (2017) is a police action comedy short film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.

Product: Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)

Original title: Майор Гром (Mayor Grom, English: Major Grom), English title: Major Grom

Series: Major Grom series

Previous entries in the series: -

Setting: contemporary Earth

Product type: Film, Genre: police action comedy, Style: thriller, action, police action, comedy, short film

Release: Premiere: 2017.02.11 (Berlin International Film Festival), Release: 2017.02.19

Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them

Watched: very recent (2022.02), first time

Rating: Good (2+ out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Good (2+ out of 3 points)

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This is my review of Major Grom, a police action comedy short movie for the Major Grom series from 2017. It's about a group of bank robbers trying to rob a bank, and get away with the money. The Major Grom short film is interesting, I recommend it to fans of the genre.

If you'd like to be surprised by the Major Grom film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:11, because it gives away too much of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the film, up to the ending scene.

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Review (spoiler-free) - Major Grom, movie (2017)

I was preparing to watch the Mayor Grom: Chumnoy Doktor / Major Grom: Plague Doctor (2021) movie, when I've read there's a short movie out there, that's the first episode in the series. So, I took I searched the internet, until I've found it online. I didn't watch the trailer.

The Major Grom movie is about a group of bank robbers trying to rob a bank, and get away with the money.

The plot of the story (bank robbery) is generic, but the execution is funny and interesting. The movie is mostly consistent, although there's a break after the third of the film. There are no character arcs. There are no major logical problems.

The cinematography is great, the scenes are interesting visually. The choreography of the action is great, and it's easy to follow. The film looks like it was made to be watched on a wide screen.

The characters are okay, we don't get to know them, but the film is short enough that it's not necessary. The actors (and the stuntmen) are good.

The music (by Roman Seliverstov) is very good, fitting the style and theme of the movie.

Major Grom is an interesting police action comedy short, I think fans of the genre will enjoy it.

My experience

I was satisfied with Major Grom (2017).

Rating: Good (2+ out of 3 points). Major Grom is a well-made film.

Enjoyment: Good (2+ out of 3 points). Major Grom is interesting, I liked it.

Rewatchability: High. Although it's the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested, but the action scenes were good enough to make you want to watch this multiple times.

Chance of watching it again: There's a chance. Now that I know the story, there's probably no need to watch it again, but I liked it enough that I might watch it in the right circumstances.

Chance of watching a sequel: High. I'd sure watch it. I actually watched this, because I wanted to watch the sequel, so this was a given.

Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017) - Film review by KadmonMayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)
image © Bubble Studios (Bubble Comics)

Will you enjoy this?

If you like action movies, you might like Major Grom.

If you like action comedy movies, you might like Major Grom.

If you hate subtitles, you don't have to worry, as although there's no English dubbed version yet, I think you'll understand the story even without reading the subtitles.

If you prefer visuals over story, it's still a great movie to watch.

If you hate comedy films, you should probably skip Major Grom.

Do you need to read the original novel / see the original film / play to enjoy this?

I think there's enough explanation that you'll understand what's going on without any of the Major Grom comics.

Do you need to see the second film to enjoy this?

I enjoyed this without watching the sequel, but I plan to watch the Mayor Grom: Chumnoy Doktor / Major Grom: Plague Doctor (2021), and I'll see if that will add to this story.

Watching for plot points

If you are interested in bank robbery stories, I think it's worth watching the first half of the Major Grom movie for the plot points.

Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?

The visuals probably look better if you watch it in cinema.

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Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017) - Film review by KadmonMayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)
image © Bubble Studios (Bubble Comics)

Review with spoilers - Major Grom, movie (2017)

I liked the Major Grom movie.

Cover

The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it doesn't spoil the movie.

The trailer

The trailer is basically a substitute for watching the movie.

If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the Major Grom film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will ruin the movie for you.

Promise of the first scene

A bank is being robbed. They open the vault, but it leads to a staircase, that the robbers find odd. As I also find this odd, I assume there's going to be some mystery, and I hope we'll find out more about it.

Execution: No, we didn't. It's just a staircase in the vault.

Plot summary / Synopsis

Masked robbers storm into a bank, with weapons ready. After they find the manager, they force him to open the vaults. The vault leads to a staircase, so it takes some time to bring the money out from the basement. The robber realises that it's not the real manager who opened the vault.

We see that the man who they thought as the manager is just a customer, who happens to be a out-of-service policeman (Aleksander Gorbatov as Igor Grom). When they stormed the bank, he came up with multiple possible ways to stop the robbery, but most of his predictions ended with him being killed, or the bystanders. So he decided to switch place with the real manager.

He takes down the first robber. Another robber shows up to check on them, and he takes him out too.

Then he goes up to meet the third robber. The robber starts to shoot at him. He hides until the robber runs out of ammo. The robber escapes, and gets into their getaway car. The car crashes into a garbage truck. The robber gets out of the wreck, but he is chased by the policeman. After some fighting, the policeman knocks the robber out.

There's a news report, the announcer (Evgeniya Shcherbakova as Anna Terebkina) telling about the story of the robbery.

Then we see a masked man (the Plague Doctor) ominously staring (into a sequel).

The setting

The Major Grom short film is set on contemporary Earth (probably 2017).

Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017) - Film review by KadmonMayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)
image © Bubble Studios (Bubble Comics)

The message of the story

I'm not sure there's one. "Don't try to rob a bank, if there's an out-of-service police officer there."

The structure of the story

The scenes of the Major Grom film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. There is a flashback, where we see multiple possible variations for taking down the bank robbers.

There's no single viewpoint character.

It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.

Plot points of interests

The story establishes just a few characters.

Forces

Bank robbers: They wear matching masks and track suits.

Characters

Major Grom: Police officer. He takes down the bank robbers.

Fan-service

I haven't read any of the Major Grom comics, so I can't tell if there were fan-service moments for the comics in the short movie.

Major Grom looks pretty close to his graphic novel counterpart.

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Things I liked

 

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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?

I haven't seen any other works of the writers (Artyom Gabrelyanov & Vladimir Besedin) or the director (Vladimir Besedin).

How does it compare to the original source?

I haven't read any Major Grom comics, so I have no idea.

How does it compare to the other films in the series?

As I'm preparing to watch the next movie, we'll see.

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Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017) - Film review by KadmonMayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)
image © Bubble Studios (Bubble Comics)

Analysis of the story - Major Grom, movie (2017)

I mostly liked the story, I didn't find problems that would have prevented me from enjoying Major Grom.

Problematic elements

Out of place jokes: There were some jokes, that were funny, but it took time for the characters to make, thus slowing them down. It made the robbers look more stupid, thus it's less satisfying if the hero beats them.

  • The robber's joke before getting to the vault.
  • The driver insisting on his needs. Maybe it could have been better if those have been told while already driving.

Running multiple scenarios in his mind: Although I admit that those looked really good, one scenario - probably the one ending in his death -, would have been enough.

Climbing up: Why does Grom try to climb up? How does he know that the robber will end up on the upper levels?

The escaping robber: Why does he run in circles? Why does he try to climb upwards? Why doesn't he just get out of the building, and get away from Grom?

Unanswered questions

 

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Possibilities of improvement

  • Cut the joke about the money going to the orphans.
  • Cut the additional fantasy scenarios, keep one.
  • Cut the part where the driver argues with the robber.

How it could have been better?

 

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Behind the scenes

 

Thoughts about the reviews of others

 

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Mayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017) - Film review by KadmonMayor Grom / Major Grom, short movie for the Major Grom series (2017)
image © Bubble Studios (Bubble Comics)

Uses for the film - Major Grom, movie (2017)

Plot

  • Bank robbers try to rob a bank.
  • An out-of-service police officer is in a bank when bank robbers show up.

Scenes

 

Designs

 

Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas

 

Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas

 

Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)

Bank robbers: Human-sized human civilians in masks and track suits, holding firearms.

Major Grom: Human-sized human civilian, wearing a flat cap.

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Similar stories - Major Grom, movie (2017)

Movies

Die Hard (1988): Criminals try to rob a building. An out-of-service police officer stops them.

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995): Criminals try to rob a bank. A suspended police officer stops them.

Mayor Grom: Chumnoy Doktor / Major Grom: Plague Doctor (2021): The sequel to this film.

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Frequently asked questions - Major Grom, movie (2017)

Will the Major Grom movie be available with English audio dub?

Currently (in 2022.02.08) I don't think Major Grom is available with English audio dub, just English subtitles.

Is the Major Grom film based on a book or comics?

Yes, Major Grom is not based on the Major Grom comics.

Is the Major Grom film a remake or reboot?

No, the Major Grom film is neither a remake nor a reboot.

Is there a post credit scene in Major Grom? Does Major Grom have end credit scenes?

No, there's no post credit scene in Major Grom.

Where can I see Major Grom? What is Major Grom playing on? What streaming service is Major Grom on? Where can I watch Major Grom online? Is Major Grom available on Netflix? Is Major Grom on Amazon?

As of 2022.02.08, Major Grom is available on YouTube.

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Resources - Major Grom, movie (2017)

Official

https://www.instagram.com/bubble_comics/

https://vk.com/bubble

https://twitter.com/bubble_ru

https://www.facebook.com/BubbleComics/

https://zen.yandex.ru/bubblecomics

https://t.me/bubble_comics

Information

IMDB: Mayor Grom / Major Grom (2017): Database article.

WikiPedia: Major Grom (2017 film): Database article.

Letterboxd: Major Grom 2017: Database article.

Creation

: Concept art article.¤

Reviews with no spoilers - Major Grom film (2017)

: Review video about the Major Grom film with no spoilers.¤

Reviews with spoilers - Major Grom film (2017)

: Review article of the Major Grom movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤

Analysis - Major Grom movie (2017)

: Analysis video, explaining the finale of Major Grom.¤

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Buying the product - Major Grom, movie (2017)

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Have you seen the Major Grom film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!

 

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