No Limit

Watched series 1 and 2 but had to concede defeat at the start of the 3rd. My mind had to give up after coincidence after coincidence after coincidence. Hardly a scene goes by without someone turning up ( by coincidence ) at a key moment. Sister, wife, baddie, daughter, comic sidekick or lover. If you take your brain out for an hour you can enjoy the flash, bang, wallop of it all.

Luc Besson has clearly established himself as one of the most renown current French filmmakers, whose many creations have already obtained cult status and/or general fame. Despite the fact that the recent decade or so has seen the French crime series moving into/towards Scandinavian noir, the series like Taxi, Transporter or the one in question have their steadfast place among related series.

Unlike e.g. Tarantino, Besson does not amuse with crimes or violence, but his characters and still "very French" and able to issue funny or foolish lines during harsh situations... The cast is evenly strong and distinct, with Vincent Elbaz as Vincent Libérati and Damien Jouillerot as Tony Massart create most funny and odd situations, particularly when together... True, some scenes are too hyperbolic and some others do not provide any complement to the Series, but there are no totally ridiculous scenes as often in similar US series. Season 1 and 2 are the best and fastest, Season 3 shows some signs of tardiness and weariness (which is probably the reason why Season 4 was canceled, although Season 3 ends strangely).

All in all, a good series, along the lines of Taxi and The Transporter, but more compact than the latter. It is advisable to watch all episodes in sequence, otherwise summaries and flashbacks may be confusing, as the dynamic of personal relations of the main characters play a crucial role in understanding most acts and deeds.

I'm not really into reviews. However, seeing that this series has only one and at the same time very negative review I decided to write one. I saw first two seasons and enjoyed them very much. Actors are great. Action scenes are interesting. There's a lot of humor and funny scenes. Vincent Elbaz is perfect as the main hero Vincent Liberati. His sister (Anne Girouard) is so funny that I start to laugh as soon as she enters the scene. Bernard Destouches as inspector Bago is also extremely funny!. This series deserves much more attention, by audience as well as critics. I recommend it to anyone who likes good action combined with light humor.

This series started out great. Season one has great scripts, good characters, compelling plots and beautiful cinematography.

Season two rolled around and the production staff must have changed hands. Instead of nice, tight, two-part stories, we got a long, rather boring story arc that was confusing and consisted of catching a bad guy portrayed by an actor whose sole ability was to glare malevolently through smoke-hued glasses. The cinematography began to resemble Hollywood's, there were too many fight and shoot 'em up scenes.

Season three rolled around and is barely watchable. I don't even think I'll finish it. I think everyone quit giving a damn, including the actors. The plot is like caramel apple rolling down a dirty street, collecting whatever bits of debris lie in its path.

So, watch season one. It's great and beats the pants off anything out of Hollywood in the last 15 years. Watch season two, but be forewarned. Watch season three if you're a masochist or are stuck in a hospital bed with nothing better to do.

PS -- The subtitling (English) is excellent, except for the amusing omission of a certain swear word...

Good plots and subplots. Am enjoying this series tremendously.