Le premier cercle
- 2009
- Tous publics
- 1h 35m
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
The Malakian clan, a family of ruthless gangsters, controls the underworld of Southern France.The Malakian clan, a family of ruthless gangsters, controls the underworld of Southern France.The Malakian clan, a family of ruthless gangsters, controls the underworld of Southern France.
Philippe Leroy
- Halami
- (as Philippe Leroy-Beaulieu)
Featured reviews
I love Jean Reno (Leon: The Professional, Godzilla, Ronin, The Crimson Rivers). That may color my impression of the film as a whole. He plays an Armenian mafia head in France. He is cool, tough, and everything I have always loved about his acting.
Gaspar Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) plays his son, Anton. Anton wants out of the mob and wants to live a normal life with his love Elodie, played by Vahina Giocante (Lila Says).
Sami Bouajila (Days of Glory, The Siege) is Saunier, the police inspector trying to catch the gang as they plan one last heist that will set them up for life.
Director Laurent Tuel did not waste a second in this dark film. It was captivating from beginning to end, even if it turned out as expected. The soundtrack was excellent. It was worth watching just to hear it.
Gaspar Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) plays his son, Anton. Anton wants out of the mob and wants to live a normal life with his love Elodie, played by Vahina Giocante (Lila Says).
Sami Bouajila (Days of Glory, The Siege) is Saunier, the police inspector trying to catch the gang as they plan one last heist that will set them up for life.
Director Laurent Tuel did not waste a second in this dark film. It was captivating from beginning to end, even if it turned out as expected. The soundtrack was excellent. It was worth watching just to hear it.
A hard-boiled, slickly entertainingly, bullet-paced Policier about an infamous Armenian crime family ruthlessly headed by powerful boss, Milo Malakian (Jean Reno). His rebellious, altogether less bloodthirsty son, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel) secretly wants out, enjoy some bucolic domesticity with his lava hot nurse fiancee, Elodie (Vahina Giocante). Needless to say his son's imminent defection, ever mounting paranoia, and the relentless hounding by vengeful L'inspecteur Saunier (Sami Bouajila) bodes ill for the fractured Malakian clan! While formulaic, the action is dynamically mounted, performances are uniformly credible, Alain Kremski's lyrical piano score is a delight, and the terse, volatile atmosphere is frequently redolent of a vintage Lenzi Polizioteschi! Laurent Tuel's consistently gripping 'Le Premier Cercle' is an above average Euro-crime thriller that, sadly, seems to have been overlooked. The desperate airplane heist is genuinely thrilling, and Jean Reno fans are in for a real treat. If 'Le Premier Cercle' had been shot in the late 60s, I could readily see, Alain Delon as Anton, and burly Lino Ventura as Milo!
Milo Malikian (Jean Reno) is the head of an Armenian "crime family" in the south of France that is about to pull off a daring multi-million euro heist. But his dreamy son, Anton, is more interested in starting a family with the lovely nurse Elodie than continuing with the family business, much to his father's disappointment. To complicate matters, a police inspector who's crossed paths with the Malikians in the past is hot on the trail. There are some really nice elements in this film (lovely southern France location shots and appealing and charismatic actors), but while the build-up to the heist is well done, the film seems incomplete, and that's not referring only to the weirdly truncated ending. Potential themes are introduced in the film but never developed. Historical footage of the Armenian genocide introduces the film, but its relevancy to the current Malikian family and business is never explored. The police inspector on their trail is warned by his superior not to become obsessed with taking down the Malikian clan, but other than the fact that we was part of an operation that resulted in the death of Milo's eldest son, there's no development of his character or particular obsession. The unsatisfying ending feels as if the budget ran out and the filmmaker had to cut it short. Enjoyable, but not quite France's version of "Heat" either.
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.
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.
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....
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....
Did you know
- GoofsThe camera crew are clearly visible in the black visor of the motor helmet.
- SoundtracksSous Les Etoiles Silencieuses
Written and performed by Alain Kremski
- How long is Ultimate Heist?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $2,322,421
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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