Antigang

If you watch this and you have a Deja Vu (how french of me), than you're onto something. This is a remake of the British movie "Sweeney". It's not point for point and it takes certain liberties (it's shorter for that matter than the original), but it does have a lot of moments too. The relationship between the Reno character and three other characters in this are nicely drawn out.

Not as fine as those that are shown in the British original. But the charming nature of the cast at hand here and the well shot action scenes, really give it a lift. The important parts have been transfered to this french version, but as said this is a smaller affair (no pun intended). If you've seen the Original you might therefor feel a bit cheated upon ... not unlike someone in this movie!

This one is a straight forward, no-frills action flick. No twists, no turns.

The cast is decent and the story is plausible without being too cliché laden. Nonetheless, for European audiences some of the action (and subsequently its impact on the "environment" and the consequences for the cops) might seem over-the-top. But we've learned to live with the fact, that "action cops" can blow up a building, to get a pickpocket. And it just earns them 3 weeks behind the desk.

Most of the dialogue is okay, some exchanges are even funny, without being silly. But it's not a Lethal Weapon/Die Hard kinda thing.

Directing goes okay even though some of the action sequences are a tiny bit hectic- the cuts made during editing look a bit like they were made on purpose to emphasize the intense exchange of gunfire. IMO here less would have been more. It would be more en par with the rest of the movie. But in general the overall pace is okay.

As mentioned, the story is a no-frills crime/thriller which is suitable for a decent action flick. Do not expect too much from it, though.

Unfortunately Jean Reno has gotten old. You can tell by the way he moves in several shots- also, when the action kicks in he is "magically" more agile, thanks to stunt people. But he still does well as an aging cop. I just do not like the full beard he is sporting in this one.

To sum it up, it's a decent French action flick, liberally borrowing from American action cinema in terms of craftsmanship.

This is not a real review, it should be taken more as a collection of impressions on the film.

This is a very classic detective story and also a very classic action film. That is, it has nothing new but nothing bad either and this results in a very normal film that is just entertaining without any pretense and aims solely at giving the viewer a good deed without asking for any kind of commitment or concentration on the part of the viewer. So in conclusion this is a very normal film to see if you want to spend some time without worries enjoying the excellent action with a typically classic detective plot.

There was no novelty in the gunfight between the police and the bandits. As a result, the scene was still petty, and then there was an extramarital affair. The pot chowder is not delicious.

A group of cops are after a very clever criminal, who hasnt been caught for years. Will they finally catch him?

The good: the actors. We get to see a cast of French actors that are simply rock solid, with Jean Reno in another macho cop role and he does perform it to the T. All the other actors are good as well and they have great chemistry.

More good: there are some nice heist and chase sequences, which are not riveting, but enjoyable enough for such a standard crime flick.

Any bad? Well, there are some attempts at romance in between, which serve no point to the action plot, But perhaps some folks like a bit of romance and husband and wife stuff. I dont care much about that, because I watch it for the ACTION, of which there is plenty of (fortunately).

All in all another well made French crime flikc, definitely not the best, nor the most thrilling,, but it'll do nicely as an enjoyable pastime...