Alle meine Väter

A downright oddity, in fact two movies in one. The first being a comedy about two possible fathers coming to terms with the idea of being a parent. The second a tough as nails russian-mafia-flic, harsh, brutal and not for the faint of heart. Logically the two don´t melt into one and the cross cutting of the two story lines in the film´s early stages only stresses the fact.

But, on the other hand, who cares about a story or its coherence or its lack of respectively? This is a reunion movie and since it´s Alain Delon who is reunited with Jean-Paul Belmondo ("Borsalino" anyone?)all you can ask for is nonchalant banter in between casual shootouts. And that´s what you get. That´s in fact all you get. And that´s why the film well overstays its welcome.

The only reason for distinguished director Patrice Leconte to do this may have been to share a credit with not one but two living legends of the French cinema. And though Belmondo and Delon may having had fun they´re way to old for this kind of physical exercise. We will be giving standing ovations in case any of the three (stars and director) would decide to do a serious crime flic or a "serious" comedy. As for "Une chance pour deux", it isn´t neither.

In his book "I am an impostor", Patrice Leconte wrote that "une Chance Sur Deux" drew more than a million viewers in French theaters when the film was theatrically released. It was however a failure because this film was expensive to make due to its stars: Vanessa Paradis, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, the restless story and its treatment. Critics were hardly tender towards the Leconte 1998 vintage and view the three stars' incredible adventures in an unfavorable light. With hindsight, "une Chance Sur Deux" is sandwiched between two Leconte masterworks: "Ridicule" (1996) and "la Fille Sur la Pont" (1999) and didn't seem to be in the hearts of many Leconte aficionados.

However, I'm eager to restore it to favor. Sure, it doesn't match the two aforementioned Leconte works as well as other pearls in his filmography but it has more than good stuff to spend a pleasant time in front of your telly. The starting point could make you guess you're going to watch a reflective piece of work. A young girl Alice is released from prison and is confronted to a serious problem: two men who are retired gangsters claim to be her father. They will have to team up to save their daughter from the clutches of the Russian Maffia, Colombian traffickers and the police.

Quite quickly, after having timidly broached the issue of paternity on a humorous tone, Leconte's film takes a lighter direction: to entertain thanks to an unlikely but exciting scenario with stunts, chases interspersed with laughter. I especially dig the moment when Belmondo and Delon oblige a gangster to practice bungee-jumping to help them in their investigation. And amid this flood of unexpected twists and mad adventures shot with a style close from the comic strip, Leconte didn't lose his trademark with witty cues and one of his thematic tastes: the duo of men even if in this domain "une Chance Sur Deux" is much less elaborated than other Leconte films on the same topic like "Tandem" (1987) or "l'Homme Du Train" (2002). One also shouldn't forget some eccentric characters like the cop acted by Michel Aumont.

The three stars don't take themselves seriously and it's the position adopted by Leconte to better involve the audience. So, don't be fooled by the lukewarm reception the film garnered about ten years ago and let yourself immersed in this maelstrom of agitation shot with rigor and a conscientious manner.

Seductive more for stories behind the set. And for memories about Belmondo - Delon couple. But , ignoring the nice presence of Vanessa Paradis - reminding a version of Bridgette Bardot - not very much.

The fights, mafia, cars, drugs are a forced solution, saved by dialogue and, in some measure, by the fatherhood dilemma.

In short, a nice film to remind old succesful movies, an old friendship and the survive of good buddies in cinema of 90 s. And, in some measure, it can be just enough, sure, seeing the film after almost three decades .

Some action, some seduction and two fathers and not the most comfortable daughter .

I would like Delon and Belmondo had come together for the second time at least ten years earlier. Then the action scenes would be not only more credible but more creative, too.

The story of the film is basically creative, but the action scenes take more than enough time while the real asset of the story (and of the film, too) was not the action but the relation of the three major characters. I would like to see much more scenes about the relations of the extraordinary characters and smart dialogs among them, that is, I would rather to enjoy the magnetism of the acting and personalities of the extraordinary triangle of Delon/Belmondo/Paradis than to watch the ordinary explosions, ordinary mafia guys, ordinary car chases, ordinary flying bullets and the other similarly ordinary trifles.

Delon and Belmondo must come together for a third time, and this time without waiting for ten years more. Yes it may be already late. But now is better than later or never.

The long-awaited (since "Borsalino" in 1970, I think) reunion of two of the greatest and most popular French film stars ever, Alain Delon and Jean Paul Belmondo, is a slick but disappointing action comedy. It is mildly amusing when it focuses on these two and their relationship with the daughter they never knew they had, but the secondary crime plot makes very little sense for at least the first 40 minutes, and the villainous Russian mobsters look and (over)act like refugees from a straight-to-video Steven Seagal movie. Delon and Belmondo are still fun to watch, and they have to be commended for still pulling off some hard and risky stunts at their age; as for Vanessa Paradis, she is fresh and sexy. But if you're looking for this type of "Americanized" French cinematic entertainment, the "Taxi" series (especially Part 2) does it better. ** out of 4.