Le premier cercle

Despite the Armenian church service and the historical introduction, the ethnic theme is a bit weak (and do the Armenians in real life actually have their own mafiosi?), and this hasn't the richness of Melville, or 'The Godfather,' or Téchiné's 'Les Voleurs.' But this film is satisfying precisely for the qualities that cause some to dismiss it: it's understated, elegant, and sensually pleasing, with beautiful images and a musical accompaniment far above genre and cool, classy criminals who project a sense of being fearless and professional. This is the kind of stylish European crime film with sleek cars, sunlit villas, and drives along the Riviera that you can enjoy for the atmosphere as much as anything else. Everyone dresses in black. Sami Bouajila's cop too (Bouajila the actor also himself a consummate professional, very solid here); his black outfits are just a bit dustier and shabbier. Gaspard Ulliel grows up here from most of his earlier roles (after already having become macho and heroic as the peasant hero of the 2007 'Jacquou le croquant') slicking his hair back, bulging out of his designer clothes, peering over his designer shades. Both he and Réno show very little emotion, projecting instead the dedication of stoical members of a tight clan. I don't know if you can believe Antona's plan of breaking away. How is he supposed to do that by taking over a hotel in the Camargue set up by somebody his father works with, right under his nose, and without the money for the down payment? This is less convincing and less well developed than something like Thomas Seyr (Romain Duris) wanting to become a concert pianist in Audiard's 'The Beat My Heart Skipped'. But this to me is like the beautiful, elegant 1957 'No Sun in Venice' ('Sait-on jamais'), directed by Roger Vadim, which a user wisely said is "worth it for the music and the visuals." Only 'Le premier cercle' ('The Ultimate Heist,' sadly generic title) doesn't have a classic sound track by the Modern Jazz Quartet. 'Le premier cercle' also relates to the Marseilles-based "Frank Riva" TV trilogy starring the aging, mellower Alain Delon. But 'Le premier cercle' is more stylish and restrained. It lets you wallow in cool.

Very handsome young gangster wants to leave the family business and lead a normal life but he needs money so one last heist.

Other reviewers cover the story in detail so I will not and just give my overall impressions.

No, this is not a great movie. However it is OK and entertaining.

The production values are low rent trying to be high rent. What do I mean? Well there are great shots from the air but they don't grab you like they do in a comparable film like Anthony Zimmerman.

The story is predictable and full of holes....you don't attack an airport and plane any more without getting the entire national defence force down on you--France has lots of Mirage fighters and so forth that would have been scrambling.

I guess overall this is pretty good boiler plate gangster flic avec un accent Français. There are many better The Double Hour, The Aura etc....

Tense and violent French thriller with intense drama , wonderful acting and spectacular action scenes , dealing with the head of an Armenian "crime family" and his son , set in the south of France . Thrilling and stirring thriller about a powerful family of cruel mobsters , they are the Malakian clan , that controls the underworld of Southern France . At its head, the tough , ruthless godfather Milo Malakian (Jean Reno) rules his world with an iron fist . The gang is formed by various two-fisted members , all of whom have great respect for this person . His son and heir, results to be Anton (Gaspard Ulliel) , but he wants to retire himself , living peacefully . Anton's life radically changes when appears a beautiful girl and he would like to forget that part of his life along with his nurse sweetheart Elodie (Vahina Giocante) . Miko Malakian is a known robber who has retained a sense of family , honesty , camaraderie , unfailing loyalty and pride in his origins . Proud Miko is 60 and some years old and a veteran leader of a dangerous band of robbers . The two of them , father and son , have created a reckless gang who carry out bold robberies . Most of all, Miko has remained friendship with Rudy (Isaac Sharry) .The team they formed, inevitably got involved in organized crime, they are called the Malakian Clan , made them the most famous armed thieves in France .Meanwhile , the clan chief Miko taking part in funeral , weddings , parties and family celebrations . But then there appears the stubborn L'inspecteur Saunier (Sami Bouajila) who relentlessly pursues them . To getaway , not only does Anton have to counter his own destiny , but also the cop who has sworn to bring his dad down . Later on , there emerges violence , chases , betrayal and relentless vendetta , it does gang's inner circle is engraved in blood .

A stylish , complex , dramatic movie driven by two main characters , dealing with a known delinquent : Jean Reno and his son as well as heir : Garpard Ulliel . This exciting film contains action , violence , thrills , treason , suspense and plot twists . Top-notch thriller in which nothing is the way it seems , the atmosphere is already tense and the twists and turns are the best part of this movie . In other ways, it feels like a tribute to ¨Polar¨ genre or French Noir Cinema , full of attractive characters and edge-of-your-seat intrigue . The story is well paced including complex as well as interesting roles. The film was noteworthy for casting some of the finest actors in France . Exceptional acting by Jean Reno , a good French actor who has played several Noir flicks , he plays as Milo Malakian , a notorious criminal of simple and universal values, so clear-headed and full of loyalty , friendship , comradeship with his family and band . Reno has played a lot of hits ; both , main actor and secondary character , such as : The Professional, The Big Blue , Godzilla, Ronin, Days and Nights , The Crimson Rivers I and II , Wasabi , 22 Bullets , Alex Cross , Pink Panther , Cash , Armored , and many others . His son is well played by Gaspard Ulliel as Anton Malakian who has disowned his past, as he wishes quiet life, as he dreams of breaking free and making his own choices , he would like to forget that part of his life ,as he has found peace by retiring from the "business" along with his girlfriend Elodie finely performed by Vahina Giocante , she is a nice match with Gaspard . Good production design , adding colorful exteriours and adequate interior . Excellent soundtrack by Alain Krenski that elevates the emotion and the intensity of the scenes to new heights . Brilliant as well as evocative cinematography filmed on location by Laurent Machuel .

Laurent Tuel did a formidable job with this Le premier cercle (2009) in similar style to Les Lyonnais (2011) . Tuel is a good writer/producer/director of nice movies . He then wrote the first draft of the screenplay himself, and so on ; being based on a original idea by Laurent Turner and Laurent Tuel himself . Tuel is a notorious writer/director who has directed a few films , TV movies and shorts , such as : Children's Play , Jean-Philippe , Le combat ordinaire , Le grande boucle , Le rocher d'Acapulco , Speakerine (TV Series) and Hillbilly Chainsaw Massacre (Short) . rating : 6.5/10 . Decent French thriller .

...where the other reviewers watching? I don't write reviews very often. Most of the time I do it to do justice. To set all those reviews from a parallel dimension straight.

Inner Ring is not a good movie. It is not resourceful, the ending is not surprising and neither Reno, nor Ulliel have delivered their best performances here.

The character development in this movie is so bad, it will make you cringe. As is the storytelling. I am beginning to suspect that this is a French thing, as I have seen it before. Scenes are cut together, seemingly at random. No segways, no connection to other scenes. There are apparently huge leaps in time that the viewer is completely unaware of, until a scene just doesn't make any sense. You will think "Oh, I guess some months went by" and maybe even shrug your shoulders. And slowly you will begin to lose interest in this movie. The characters apparently develop off-screen. Which is a bad thing, because this is a friggin' movie! You are supposed to see what is going on. So the audience can build a relationship with the characters. This movie fails in doing so.

I conclude with the plead to look at the overall rating, which is not very good. Please, don't believe any review that rates this movie higher than 5.

This movie could have been so much better. The cast, the location, even the plot (thin as it was) was good. Especially the cast. I expect great things of Jean Reno. Perhaps the budget caused the director to pinch things.

I did like the homage to The Godfather with the scene following where the grocery bag falls to the pavement. Nice touch.

There could have been so much more, but the movie felt hollow. The actual heist itself seemed to me almost an afterthought. Such a pity, because the drama could really have been built there step by step, scene by scene. I kept waiting for the payoff. Frankly, I was confused at which player took the bullet until the denouement. The last third of the movie was muddy, or perhaps 'smoky'.

I really wish that I could rank this movie higher than I did, but that's show biz, I guess.