Bastion 36

Okay, so Squad 36 - it starts off like it's gonna be this gritty, edge-of-your-seat cop thriller, with a crazy cool chase scene through rainy streets and all that jazz. I was in at first. The main guy, Antoine, is this hot-headed cop who moonlights as a bare-knuckle brawler (because... sure, why not?), and it seems like we're gearing up for some good old-fashioned crime drama. Buuut then it just kind of... deflates. Like when you pour yourself a strong espresso and it somehow tastes like lukewarm tap water halfway through. The plot wanders into this whole corruption scandal thing, but it never hits hard. It just kinda slogs along like a slow walker in a busy hallway-you know how I feel about that. Some folks thought it was a fun ride with decent performances (fair enough), but most reviews I peeked at were like, "Eh, skip it." The ending was super meh - like it was trying to be deep and gritty, but ended up just feeling flat. So yeah, it could be your thing if you just want background noise with some French cops brooding. I'd pass and save my time for something with a bit more bite.

Releasing straight into television, Bastion 36 is the newest work from Director Olivier Marchal, best known for his crime thrillers, Marchal seems to be a fan of the premise of two or more cops in some tricky situation: Gangsters (2002) is about two undercover cops, 36th Precinct (2004) is also about two cops - this particular one has a name very similar to Bastion 36, right? - and, in fact, Marchal's entire portfolio as a Director has films with police officers or police squads, so he is not new to the genre.

In Bastion 36, it is no different. France's worst cop, Antoine Cerda, is everything you'd want to avoid in the police force: he's impulsive, self-destructive, selfish, and naive; And he likes to join underground fight clubs for money, so we can say that he is a bit corrupt as well. His only redeeming factor, though strange, is that he has a strong sense of right and wrong, whatever that means in his confused mind. When two of his former colleagues end up dead and one goes missing, he begins to investigate on his own after realizing that the police seem to be inert in the situation.

The movie starts with a strange chase scene where everything goes wrong and the conclusion is absurd. About 35 minutes into the film and I already wanted to give up and return it to the digital shelf, but out of sheer displeasure in wanting to watch something and the seriousness of the cinematography and themes, I persisted. I can't say that the film improved much later.

My main problem with Bastion 36 is Antoine. For a senior investigator accustomed to organized crime, Antoine looks more like an inexperienced jerk. His immaturity during the investigation is bothering and, even at the end of the film, I can't find any factors or facts that redeem him from his position as the worst cop to get involved in active corruption investigation and organized crime. Fateful, the conclusion of his character arc is at least adequate. I avoid extending these detractors to actor Victor Belmondo who, in general, does a decent job of acting.

The plot itself is a series of clichés of the genre and anyone who takes the slightest pleasure in crime thriller movies will solve the riddle and the events that unfold quickly. Bastion 36 doesn't innovate, plays simple with the plot in hand and unfolds an acceptable but already beaten story. The middle of the plot is interesting just enough to make us want to know what will happen to this whole mess, but deep down we know how it will end. Funningly enough, Bastion 36 adapts the novel "Flics Requiem" by Michel Tourcher, so I wonder how much better is that piece.

This is the kind of movie that works, but it's expendable, a forgettable movie, far from being someone's recommendation off of a hit-and-miss, pronto shot. Maybe if Bastion 36 appears on some list, those who have watched it would say "ok, it's an ok movie" and, in fact, they would be correct.

The Netflix English-language synopsis is: "Forced out of his elite unit, a troubled cop launches his own rougue investigation when mysterious killings claim the lives of his former colleagues." Okay, sounds promising: maybe a noirish thriller or perhaps a revenge action movie.

Nope! It's a cloying, dour melodrama about coplife that's pretty insipid and pointless. You can tell you're in for a bumpy ride from the outset when the main character, who's supposed to be moonlighting as an underground MMA fighter, shows up for his bouts in a long-sleeve t-shirt. Presumably the actor couldn't be bothered to get in good enough shape to not look ridiculous cage-fighting shirtless.

Regardless the "mystery" elements aren't mysterious, the characters aren't likeable enough to engender interest/sympathy and the movie teases grand conspiracies it has no interest in exploring.

If there's any point to any of this at all it seems to be that one cannot fight City Hall. Fair enough, and there's a way to do that sort of thing right: see e.g. Chinatown and L. A. Confidential. They wove compelling characters, pathos and procedural elements into entertaining mysteries with gutting (Chinatown) and/or downbeat (L. A. Confidential) finales.

This, unfortunately, is more like a smug existentialist wasting the audience's time for two hours before getting to his rather banal point.

Squad 36 had an intriguing plot antonie is a cop sent to another division for something he was getting blamed for , but after two of his members end up dead and one goes missing he takes it upon himself to find out the truth behind what is happening and a possible correuption involving his former team and as antonie gets closer to the truth his own life might be in danger. The acting was decent. The action and thriller structure were not really great. I thought this film was ultimatly a let down in the end and I wish it was just the little bit better constructed because overall I did not find this film too great.

A typical PolAr crime film from France, but one that surprises with German-language tracks by Rebeka WARRIOR and the band KOMPROMAT in the soundtrack!

The grandson of Jean-Paul BELMONDO (1933 - 2021), Victor BELMONDO (born 1993), plays a young police officer from the French BRI who is transferred to the BAC as a punishment because of his penchant for illegal competitions. Six months later, some of his former colleagues are killed. Apparently the former friends were involved in illegal activities. The investigation reveals further surprises.

Nothing new from the PolAr genre that is so popular in France and beyond! But with French director Olivier MARCHAL, who is primarily responsible for the genre classic 36 QUAI DES ORFEVRES from 2004, a master of his craft delivers a passable NETFLIX film. For fans of the French crime film, which is also somehow the successor to the Italian Poliziotteschi from the 1970s, it is definitely worth a viewing.