Sleepless Night - Nacht der Vergeltung

When it comes to action thrillers, French cinema has put out some really good stuff over the last couple of years. This is another example of great action thriller. A ride you want to take if you like movies with a high suspense level. It actually impressed Americans that much, that they made a remake of this one.

You can assume that the Remake is not as good as this, but if you don't like reading subtitles, then you might want to go check the Jamie Foxx version of this. This one is a roller-coaster that won't let you breathe. Once the action starts, there is no stopping. It's more about action and about getting things rolling. Still you got really good actors pulling things off. Sit back, watch and enjoy

Before I get started, I would like to say that I thought this was a good movie. With that being said, I would like to explain why I am only rating it a 6. I live in the US, so I watched the US trailer for this film and they displayed reviews such as, "If the Oscars added a category for best action movie it would be a shoo-in", "Like Die Hard meets 24 by way of Taken" and "Crazy action that just doesn't quit".

After reading these reviews and watching the trailer, I thought this movie was going to pack a big punch and deliver along the lines that were portrayed in the reviews. I was very disappointed to find out that they were wrong. There is action in the movie, but it certainly isn't non-stop, and it takes a while to get there anyway. The reviews are very misleading and the narration from the trailer doesn't accurately describe what actually happens in the film. Do yourself a favor and do not watch this film with the idea that it is going to be an action packed thrill ride like Die Hard or Taken.

Okay, now back to what I enjoyed about the film. I felt like the story was very believable. I really liked how the entire movie took place in one location in a series of events that lasted just one day. I thought the acting was very good, especially from the lead, Tomer Sisley. I also thought the direction was good, especially during some of the fight scenes. I did have some issues, however, with the choreography on some of the fight scenes/gun fights. I felt it was well written and the delivery was good on all parts.

All in all, I really felt like it was a good movie. It just didn't live up to what I expected and what I was hoping for. I definitely recommend watching it, but I have to advise you to not get your hopes up and not to expect a gun blazing, ass-kicking fiesta.

Two masked cops go after some drug dealers and steal their drugs. One of them, Vincent, is injured in the ensuing fight. He's also identified by one of the criminals and witnesses. As a result, the big bad drug lord, Jose, kidnaps Vincent's son to get his drugs back. Now Vincent forcefully explains to his partner Manuel, that he needs the drugs while Manuel wants his cut and needs the money. Later Manuel meets with a crooked internal affairs cop.

Vincent retrieves the drugs and goes to Jose's lair, a giant dance club/restaurant/bar/private club for perverts and more. But he was followed by a female IA. She sees him go in the men's restroom with a bag but exit without the bag. So she goes in the men's restroom and finds the bag in the ceiling. She takes it and hides it in the women's restroom ceiling.

Vincent with just one little packet of drugs meets Jose and demands to see his son. After Jose checks the drugs and Vincent sees his son he offers to return in a few minutes with the rest of the drugs, which of course aren't there anymore. So he devises a plan and goes to the kitchen and gets the staff to fill packets with flour and put them in a bag. But by now another foreign gang has arrived demanding the drugs from Jose. The ruse works and Vincent gets his son back, but only for a while. He quickly loses his son again to the thugs.

Now with no more moves to make he has to get his son back, with Jose and his henchmen after him as well as the two IA agents and Vincent's ex-wife constantly calling him on the phone.

Nuit Blanche is quite thrilling at first. Everything up to the point where he loses his son after getting him is very exciting, timing is very important for Vincent and we are on the edge counting the seconds till the foreign drug dealers discover the ruse. Things slow down then for a bit as Vincent has no way out--no drugs, no weapon (he hid his somewhere in the club). But quickly things pick up again as he confronts the IA agents very violently and things get a little funny too as he uses some cute girl he rescued earlier from a pushy guy to hide and escape from all the people after him. Story-wise too there are several twists and turns and things aren't quite as they seem.

But, too much time is spent on the son, the ex-wife, kitchen fight scenes. Vincent running through a very crowded club gets repetitive fast. Almost the entire movie is set in the club and despite attempts to give us a variety of environments, it does get tiring after a while. Nevertheless, for a Heat-inspired French action thriller, this movie is worth watching.

Sleepless Night, the new French action film written and directed by Frédéric Jardin, combines all the visceral action of a film like Die Hard, with the suspense and urgency of 24. While the film itself doesn't stray too far from the standard action formula, it still manages to take us on fun ride over the course of one crazy night.

Shot almost entirely in what appears to be the largest, most labyrinthine night club in the world, Sleepless Night follows Vincent, a cop who ends up on the wrong side of the law, as he attempts to make things right, and save his kidnapped son. Caught between the gangsters that have his child, and the police that are chasing him down, Vincent needs to make his way through the crowded night club and get himself and his son to safety.

Although this is not an entirely original concept, the execution of the story is expertly done. Within the first minute of the film, we're thrown into the action, which sets the tone for the rest of the movie. It's fast paced and at times frantic, but does let us catch our breath from time to time. The fact that it also takes place over the course of one night, in one centralized location, also adds to the suspenseful nature of the film. Although the club seems to be enormous, with many back hallways and side rooms, it's also very crowded and feels claustrophobic at times, which helps accentuate the frenzy, along with the ever present thumping of the club's music.

Having the entire film take place in this club is an interesting idea, however there are several questions of logic and common sense that are raised. Mainly, the fact that there are numerous gun fights throughout the film, and no one seems to be frightened or call the police. There are also several fights that take place in very public areas, and yet everyone seems to just ignore the fact that men are being killed around them. Personally, if I'm at a club and I hear gunshots, I'm out of there, I don't care if they just started playing that Queen song I love.

Logistical problems aside, this is still a fun movie to watch. The fight scenes are very realistic looking and feel very brutal. Instead of going with meticulously choreographed punches and kicks, Jardin decided to go with a more simple approach. The men who are fighting look like there's a purpose to every punch. They are doing it out of necessity, not because it looks flashy. Vincent does everything within his power to fend off his attackers and get to his son. He uses the environment to his advantage, grabbing at anything and everything that will stop the people trying to kill him.

Sleepless Night does a lot of borrowing from Die Hard, but still manages to stand on it's own as a top notch action film. With an engaging story, and some excellent fight scenes, this is an easy recommendation for any action fan. It's also been recently announced that this film will be getting an American remake, so it's certainly worth checking out before we ruin it with our own version.

Adam FilmPulse.net

The latter years I've gotten more and more impressed with French action movies. At least those I've come too see here in Norway, and that's quite a few. I would go so far as saying that the French are now the leading action flick makers, and by far has passed both the Americans and the Brits. The French movies I've seen recently is full of action, we'll played and has a great touch of realism, which very often is not the case with the films coming out of Hollywood.

This film, "Sleepless night", is about to be remade in Hollywood I understand, and there's really no wonder why. This is action from start to finish, and the best action I've seen since "Headhunters". It's tight, exciting, down right dirty action, and still very realistically told. It's a drug heist gone wrong, exploding into a nightmare. Many of there has been with corrupt cops, which is a great genre in itself amongst these films. I guess it's a great premise that you don't know who you can trust, or rather, like in this. You know who you can't trust. Anyone!

We meet a divorced cop getting into trouble after a rather bad decision. He is seen after committing a theft of a load of drugs. As a direct following if this, his beloved teenage son is kidnapped by the gangster missing their drugs. This starts off a nightmare which you really shouldn't miss!

A roller coaster of bad decisions and bad people. Filmed in dirty raw, grainy film, stressed music, with hand-held camera, which I've rarely seen more well done. Not annoying, just realistically adding to the nerve of the story. A treat of a film which sucks you up right from the start. I'll keep checking out French action movies!