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The Masked Gang (Maskeli Beşler İntikam Peşinde)

The Masked Gang (Maskeli Beşler İntikam Peşinde)

Movie · 2005 · 9 people

Murat Aslan wrote and directed the 2005 Turkish action comedy Maskeli Beşler İntikam Peşinde (The Masked Gang), the first film of the Maskeli Beşler series. A remake of the 1968 film Maskeli Beşler, it was made jointly by Arzu Film and Fida Film. It opened in Turkey on 28 October 2005, runs about 93 minutes and was among that year's highest-grossing Turkish films.

The story follows five friends who grew up in the same orphanage: Tezcan, Bahattin, Murat, Zeki and Kamil. These pure-hearted underdogs aim to become the most feared bandits around, a role that suits them badly, so their clumsiness turns into comedy. When the child of a dear friend falls gravely ill, they plan their most serious heist to pay for the treatment. The cast includes Şafak Sezer, Peker Açıkalın, Cengiz Küçükayvaz, Melih Ekener, Sümer Tilmaç and Dost Elver, many of them familiar from Hababam Sınıfı Üç Buçuk.

Its popularity turned it into a series: Maskeli Beşler: Irak followed on 8 January 2007 and Maskeli Beşler: Kıbrıs on 7 January 2008. Critic Ertan Tunç calls it a good comedy to see purely for laughs; his favourites are Şafak Sezer and Peker Açıkalın.

DirectorMurat Aslan
Production companyArzu Film

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Cast

Cengiz Küçükayvaz Cengiz Küçükayvaz Actor · 58 years old Kamil Melih Ekener Melih Ekener Actor · 61 years old Zeki Peker Açıkalın Peker Açıkalın Film actor · 63 years old Bahattin Şafak Sezer Şafak Sezer Actor · 56 years old Tezcan Sümer Tilmaç Sümer Tilmaç Actor · died at 66 Salih Mehmet Ali Erbil Mehmet Ali Erbil Actor · 69 years old Prison Warden Memet Ali Alabora Memet Ali Alabora Actor · 48 years old Murat Ceyhun Yılmaz Ceyhun Yılmaz Actor · 50 years old Taxi Driver Evrim Solmaz Evrim Solmaz Actor · 54 years old Genç Tekin's Mother

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Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

It's billed as an action comedy, but the comedy does the real work here. Five clumsy friends trying to become the most feared bandits around, their heist plans and the chaos that follows hit a fun pace. The ninety-three minutes go by without much dawdling. But if you're hoping for genuine heist tension or impressive set pieces, you may be let down; the suspense always stays behind the joke. One for switching off with friends.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Maskeli Beşler İntikam Peşinde arrives as a remake of a 1968 film, but owes its identity more to a cast familiar from Hababam Sınıfı Üç Buçuk. Murat Aslan's script opts for the well-meaning-bunglers template and a string of gags driven by sketch logic; the narrative leans less on a coherent structure than on the actors' comic timing. Şafak Sezer and Peker Açıkalın are performers who can carry that load. The idea of a heist to pay for a sick child offers an emotional anchor, though the shifts between comedy and drama feel forced in places. Landing among the year's highest-grossing Turkish films and spawning two sequels shows the formula works; its cinematic ambition, however, is limited.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

Five pure-hearted friends raised in an orphanage and their clumsy attempts at banditry; this is a film you put on to laugh. Kids tend to enjoy slapstick and silly jokes. Still, since the story is about banditry and a heist, it may not suit very young children; older kids and teenagers can watch it comfortably. The wish to help a sick child also gives the film a warm message.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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