Chrysalis

All connoisseurs and other snobs know that between 1960 and 1980 French cinema was miles ahead of Hollywood. Directors like Melville knew that they could not compete on special effects etcetera because of the smaller budgets. They took the only possible course: do what Hollywood doesn't dare to do. Chrysalis breaks the Hollywood conventions as well and still stands firm in the French tradition. The pale colours remind us of classics like Le Samourai; the Hoffmann character could have been played by Alain Delon in his heydays. Dialogues are minimalistic and therefor highly effective. The two story lines first are independent and gradually merge. Montage between the two is brilliant; every scene makes you longing for the next one. Only halfway the meaning of the opening scene is partly revealed; only near the end you will understand it fully. So some patience and a bigger attention span than average is demanded - and rewarded. The movie has two weak points. First of all there is the plot. Probably I am not fair, but I find it hard to accept the plots of Robocop and Terminator as well. Never will movies like that get more than 8 stars. Second I find the Hoffmann character not that convincing anymore after his "accident". Don't take my criticism too hard. Deviating from the Hollywood norm involves risks so should be praised. Chrysalis is highly entertaining and intriguing, unless you prefer the standard, brainless and predictable stuff. And never I have seen such cold scenery.

There are many ingredients of the cyberpunk genre in this film, which is why I was looking forward to see it. Unfortunately, it is a weird mix and while Leclerq obviously has a flair for aesthetics, he would have been better off letting someone else write the script.

Albert Dupontel, better known as an actor and director of comedies, continues his recent transition to more "heroic" roles. Here, he has amazing presence and physicality playing David Hoffmann, a hard-nosed cop. Unfortunately, the script is so bad, the direction so poor, that sometimes you just can't believe his lines or behavior.

His character is not the only one lacking development and substance. Everyone surrounding him looks even more like a walking cliché. Marie Guillard lacks credibility as Becker, Hoffman's pretty rookie partner. Veteran actor Marthe Keller plays a doctor with an agenda and recites her uninspiring lines without conviction. Alain Figlarz is intensely physical as the movie's main goon but as a villain, again the script doesn't sell him very well. There are many other characters we equally do not care about. Apparently, in the future, every woman in the police department will be a pretty girl who looks unfit for the job.

So, if the plot is terrible, the characters uninteresting and their lines ridiculous, why exactly does it deserve a 5 rating? Well for one, there are martial arts scene in the pure tradition of Bourne. the context in which they happen is silly but their execution is actually flawless and they are pulse-pounding. Kudos to Dupontel here. He delivers big. The rendition of a Paris in the not-so-distant future is also beautiful. It's mostly interiors (few outside shots) but you do get a nice feel of what could realistically be the future. It's extremely stylish and European. Speaking of which, the photography here is very good.

What you're left with is a movie that combines elements of techno-thriller, noir and sci-fi and takes itself very seriously. Unfortunately, it's not done well enough. When your scenario lacks credibility, a good way to save it is by injecting something else. Irony, humor or romance. But Chrysalis never does that. And the action is sparse enough that we notice it's flaws.

I hope Leclerq will pursue his career but I'd rather he directs and let someone write.

I knew very little from this movie before seeing it and was very pleasantly surprised. The actors and the direction are great, while the art direction is stunning. There are two disappointing cases of main characters having the stupid but apart from that the scenario is pretty solid too.

I'm pretty disappointed not to be hearing about this movie a little more because it definitely deserves more recognition than it is getting now.

Overall this movie is a great blend of drama and awesome action scenes while also having a fair bit of humor, and I would heartily recommend it to any movie-goer. It's also nice to see Guy Lecluyse getting some scenes for those who've heard about him, I thought he was great in that role.

This film, while not Oscar material, is a very solid sci-fi/crime thriller. It may seem to weaken itself slightly because it never really sets foot solidly in either camp but instead treads the line carefully between a quite plausible sci-fi plot and a crime/action story. Nonetheless, it is several cuts above the normal indy fare and rises even above some of Hollywood's efforts.

It has fine acting, outstanding sets, great action sequences and editing. The dualistic nature of the plot is well conceived and revealed sparingly; there are some nice twists and surprises along the route and it never bogs down. (Of course, for myself, I would have been content spending the entire 94 minutes happily watching only Mélanie Thierry's face but that's just me... ;-)

Seriously, give it a spin - you won't consider it a wasted 90 minutes if you like crime/sci-fi and great art direction in an intimate setting without loads of CGI; just be aware it's not a major undertaking like the Terminator or Matrix series - but if you don't need quite that much excitement to be entertained - it's very satisfying .

This could have been an outstanding science fiction/crime thriller. But there was simply no passion here. Everyone seemed dispassionate about any and every thing that was happening or had happened or toward each other. Editing was another problem. There were several disconnects and very little seemed to add or subtract from the story. Even by the time everything comes together, there was still no desire to care about any of these characters or the idea behind the movie.

In short, the movie came across like a dry reenactment of a crime with far reaching repercussions. Remember how interesting U.S. History was in High School? Well, there you go.

Great story. Positively wooden acting. But by the end of the film, who cares? Actually, this would have made for an excellent Japanese anime. At least they would have gotten you to care about these people.