The Takedown

Between bombastic action sequences that take way too long to get where they're going, a predictable plot and leaning heavily into screwball buddy-cop comedy that just doesn't land, this is mostly a misfire. Sy and Lafitte do their best with the material, and Izia Higelin brings her own brand of luminous charisma to her screen time, but they're let down by weak writing and embarrassingly juvenile jokes at every turn. One is better off watching a movie that does this formula right, like Rush Hour or the original Lethal Weapon.

I watched this twice. Once with subtitles in English and the other with dubbed English voice actors. I liked both versions, but if you want the full value for your watching experience then the original audio is the way to go. French is a beautiful language, and in addition the actors original delivery makes certain scenes infinitely more funnier. For a buddy cop movie that's formulaic, The Takedown, works surprisingly well because the two leads have a believable and comical relationship. Think Lethal Weapon, but with French tropes instead of American. The Takedown is what you get when you pair an effete French elite with a hard nose Paris street cop. Add in some neo-Nazis, the far right political movement currently sweeping Europe, and car chases around France's scenic countryside and this is what you will get in this movie. It's nothing special, but it is enjoyable in two languages.

Recommended.

Take Down (Loin du Périph).

Once again, director Louis Leterrier and actor Omar Sy work together. After directing a few episodes of the great series Lupin, Leterrier is behind the camera in this French crime comedy available on Netflix.

It's a beat-up story, with two cops of different styles who haven't seen each other in a long time, having to work together to investigate a murder in a small French town.

Clichés after clichés, predictability, bad jokes. What saves is the always enlightened presence of Omar Sy, playing the police officer Ousmane Diakhité and some fun scenes between him and Laurent Lafitte, a member of La Comédie-Française, who in the film is the police officer François Monge.

It's a typical afternoon session movie, to watch, rest your head, laugh a little and then forget about it.

This would have been enjoyable for small children if not for explicit content. Now it's not enjoyable for anyone. This is painfully bad and it almost physically hurt me to watch this movie until the end.

Well acted, funny, humorous, and with many unexpected events. It is also funny to see all the lepenists (and friends) getting angry and writing bad reviews to this very funny and unexpected movie. But we all know their feelings, when people make fun of their ancient approach to life ;-)