L'empire des loups

... are not enough to satisfy the/a sophisticated viewer! A movie that begins as fine as this, more in the vain of a thriller and clearly reminding people of films as "Fifth Element", and has horror elements woven into the plot, should deserve a better rating. I was amazed by the beginning and was really anxious to know what was happening. Throw in Jean Reno, always on top of his game and nothing can go wrong ... or can it?

Well it seems it can! And this movie is an example of why, you should know where you're heading as a director, making a movie. Also one of those movies who try to mix up genres just like that ... Doesn't work that easy though. And although the beginning was suspenseful and good, you will notice the point where the movie breaks ... where it won't only get ridiculous, but the movie also falls to pieces. And even the not badly photographed action sequences at the end can' save that, as well as Reno can't! The question that remains is, did the script writer(s) mess this up, or did the director go another way and made many script "corrections" (they've gone all wrong then)? I'll never know, but I also don't care!

Not a bad action/thriller.

A bit slow for a action movie, and not quite thrilling enough for a thriller. Still the action sequences were well done and some of the fighting sequences verged on excellent.

The story was slightly far fetched and tho the writers tried for twists it was really very straight forward.

Jean Reno was good as always and I thought Jocelyn Quivrin was excellent.

This movie was like a cross between "the borne identity", "seven" and 100 average cop movies.

Worth a watch id you like Jean Reno.

When the young detective Paul Nerteaux (Jocelyn Quivrin) finds the third slashed female corpse of illegal Turkish immigrants, he decides to ask for support to the experienced dark retired detective Jean-Louis Schiffer (Jean Reno) to chase the serial killer. Together, they infiltrate in the Turkish mafia trying to find the answer to the crimes. Meanwhile, the worker Anna Heymes (Arly Jover) is being submitted to a brain treatment and has severe headaches and glimpses of memories and visions. When these two parallel events collide, disclose that the Turkish organization "The Wolves" is behind them.

"L'Empire des Loups" seems to be a good story, but with a very confused and flawed screenplay. I have never read the book, where probably I would find the explanations for many situations, but watching the way I did, in a DVD spoken in French with English subtitles, I found lack of explanation for many points. I repeated some scenes, trying to see what I could have missed, but I believe the plot is really flawed. For example, Schiffer wears a necklace identical to the criminals, but it is never clear if he is a dirty cop or if he also belongs to or worked undercover in the organization. What are the reasons for the brainwash of Sema, and her visions of monsters and reference to the Four Moons? Was she a mule of the Wolves? Why waste such a woman as a mule and as a subject of an experiment? A simpler screenplay with fewer subplots would work better and better in a movie. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Império dos Lobos" ("The Empire of the Wolves")

Stylish and compelling mystery thriller along the lines of the CRIMSON RIVERS series, staring the consistently likable Jean Reno as a retired detective recruited back to assist a young Captain who is investigating a series of cruel murders of female Turkish immigrants which are suspected to involve a cadre of Turkish terrorists known as the Gray Wolves; meanwhile Arty Jover very well portrays a young amnesiac woman married to another police investigator who learns disturbing truths about her past – with both stories eventually merging in a thrilling climax that works despite some inherent preposterousness. Film is very well directed by Chris Nahon who lends a great deal of visual stylization to the storytelling; the storyline is somewhat convoluted but nonetheless becomes quite engrossing that the film works as an interesting and entertaining thriller, enhanced by impressive effects and an atmospheric musical sound design (five composers are credited). A winning example of style over substance, film is very enjoyable for the undiscriminating.

I keep finding myself liking French action movies more than Hollywood films. Not that I hate Hollywood action films. This particular movie is good at one thing. Escapism. Pure escapism. The plot is so so, but the movie is such that almost 2 hours go by and I've hardly noticed.

This movie is much better than The Crimson Rivers 2. Although I love the character in that movie. Jean Reno's beard in this one is a lil off putting. But still great acting nonetheless. Empire of the Wolves (as is the name on the disk.. if you entered that in search in IMDb you'd come up empty handed. ) has great similarities to the first Crimson Rivers. Although there, the camera work was so superiour that there's no comparison. Crimson Rivers 2 is not based on a novel of the first movie. This one is. The score is pretty good. And the female lead did a darn good job with what she was given. I'm not entirely sure why some didn't like the movie, maybe they were expecting Delicatessen or some masterpiece. But hey, up against most of the Hollywood fare, this one trounces them.

7/10

Quality: 4/10 (confusing storyline) Entertainment: 10/10 Replayable: 10/10