Uno de dos

Belmondo & Delon, together again, and this time with Vanessa Paradis in tow - or is it the other way round? The basic premise of the film is that Alice Tomaso (Paradis) gets out of jail, and goes looking for Léo (Belmondo) and Julien (Delon), one of whom, it appears, is her father. On the way, she steals the wrong car - one belonging to the Russian mafia, and arrives at her destination with a gang of thugs out looking for her and the car. Mayhem and murder ensue, as Delon and Belmondo compete, not to win the girl, but just for the right to call themselves her father. In the process, they join forces, disrupt the mafia, seize the loot and head of to America for a paternity test.

The whole movie is played for laughs, capitalizing on the James Bond, Naked Gun genre of action comedy, and it works really well. The action is as fast paced, and every bit as far fetched, as any Bond flick. The understated humour, the slick gags and special effects, the subtle dialogue all make this a movie to watch, if you're a Bond fan. You won't be disappointed. On the other hand, if you want your French films to be "arty," deep and philosophical, you'd better go look for a Truffaut or an early Jeunet - you won't find what you're looking for here. This is shallow, it's slapstick, it's silly, and it's fun. Nothing special, just a good evening's entertainment that won't tax your brain (unless you have a problem reading subtitles).

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.

You look at the birthdates and you shake your head. Belmondo at 65, Delon at 62--who can take them seriously as action heroes? Even Sean Connery had the sense to retire as Bond before he got too many grey hairs.

Oh, there are some nice effects--good to see French producers shelling out for explosions and so forth, but this is a poor effort. Only thing to admire is Vanessa Paradis: her toothy grin and enthusiasm are growing on me, but see her in the far-better La Fille sur le pont.

Both were icons of French action flicks in the 60' and 70'. Both played together once in 1970. Now don't be fooled. This isn't reality. This is an imaginary and unlikely story where actors and viewers are accomplices. Just as in any Bond flick, weapons are big and heroes get-off easy where most mortals would kick the bucket. This time, heroes are gray just as we all are getting. Imagine Sean Connery coming out of retirement and teaming with Charles Bronson for a field day. That's what we get here.

Chances are we'll get a Hollywood remake any day now.

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.