No Limit

Watched series 1 and 2 but had to concede defeat at the start of the 3rd. My mind had to give up after coincidence after coincidence after coincidence. Hardly a scene goes by without someone turning up ( by coincidence ) at a key moment. Sister, wife, baddie, daughter, comic sidekick or lover. If you take your brain out for an hour you can enjoy the flash, bang, wallop of it all.

This series started out great. Season one has great scripts, good characters, compelling plots and beautiful cinematography.

Season two rolled around and the production staff must have changed hands. Instead of nice, tight, two-part stories, we got a long, rather boring story arc that was confusing and consisted of catching a bad guy portrayed by an actor whose sole ability was to glare malevolently through smoke-hued glasses. The cinematography began to resemble Hollywood's, there were too many fight and shoot 'em up scenes.

Season three rolled around and is barely watchable. I don't even think I'll finish it. I think everyone quit giving a damn, including the actors. The plot is like caramel apple rolling down a dirty street, collecting whatever bits of debris lie in its path.

So, watch season one. It's great and beats the pants off anything out of Hollywood in the last 15 years. Watch season two, but be forewarned. Watch season three if you're a masochist or are stuck in a hospital bed with nothing better to do.

PS -- The subtitling (English) is excellent, except for the amusing omission of a certain swear word...

I'm not really into reviews. However, seeing that this series has only one and at the same time very negative review I decided to write one. I saw first two seasons and enjoyed them very much. Actors are great. Action scenes are interesting. There's a lot of humor and funny scenes. Vincent Elbaz is perfect as the main hero Vincent Liberati. His sister (Anne Girouard) is so funny that I start to laugh as soon as she enters the scene. Bernard Destouches as inspector Bago is also extremely funny!. This series deserves much more attention, by audience as well as critics. I recommend it to anyone who likes good action combined with light humor.

Luc Besson is very talented- the Lead Vincent, is very handsome in some angles, tall and athletic. I enjoy him. At least he is not cookie cutter. I saw him in one other comedy. I can't evaluate his acting, bec it's all so tongue in cheek. All I can say is he has good comedic timing. Good cinematography adds to the interest. 1st, I like that the French is understandable, no mumbling, not all slang. I like the French atmosphere and countryside. Marseille is a big port. The premise, of his incurable disease having a maybe cure, stretches a bit, but OK. He has a cop sister, an ex wife with a finance, and a wild 16 yr old daughter (with a teenage black boyfriend) whom he has previously neglected. so it's nice he has family ties. The would be fiancé of the ex wife, Bertrand is a poor casting choice. Sorry, he has a nose that looks like it's been broken at least 3 times, which is very distracting, & I find him rather unappealing. so as a rival to Vincent for his ex wife- it doesn't work. Plus he is not a good guy. He could be a thug, with a small part. A series, especially like this relies on likability, or hating the villains for the right reasons. Casting is so important. But how often can we be amused by him facing death, assassins, while chatting with his daughter or his ex wife. I guess it's a running gag. The plot or action lines are thin. I don't know how long the charm will last. Vincent is very athletic (reminds me of Jean-Paul) and they keep the stunt people busy. Lots of coincidence, but I guess in Marseille you run into everyone. They would seem to have a very small police force. I really find the action plots mundane and not engaging, and the main character is a stretch. Still I find it entertaining. a lot has to do with the Director, the cinematography.. If it were some mundane actors in L.A. CA, or NYC in English, I doubt I would like it. Than it would be NCIS Los Angeles or BlueBloods.

Good plots and subplots. Am enjoying this series tremendously.