IMDb RATING
7.5/10
36K
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The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
- Awards
- 8 wins & 17 nominations total
Cécile de France
- Jeanne Schneider
- (as Cécile De France)
Sofiane Benrazzak
- Le Fellagah #1
- (as Sophiane Benrezzak)
Gilles Geisweiller
- L'officier français
- (as Gil Geisweiller)
Featured reviews
Every once in a while a part comes along that is cast so well it's as if the actor was born to play and will forever be remembered for that role. Vincent Cassels portrayal of Frances public enemy number one, Jacques Mesrine, is one such role. Funny, disturbing, charming, psychotic and more Cassel is the larger than life criminal achieving a completely believable character study of someone the French press dubbed 'the man of a thousand faces' due to his ability to change his looks so often to evade the police. In fact the truth behind this most notorious of stories is so unbelievable at times that the filmmakers left parts out thinking the audience would think it was just too far fetched, in fact after watching the escapades of Mesrine I too thought 'all that couldn't have happened surely?' But after a little bit of homework I found that it did indeed all take place and after seeing the tale unfold you realise why Mesrine got his Monika. The film, told in two parts, opens with a brilliant seventies cop style feel and begins at the end before returning us to the start where we see a young Mesrine in the army fighting in the Algerian war, on his return to his native Paris he quickly becomes entangled with Guido a mafia boss played superbly by Gerard Depardieu (why had no one cast him in this kind of role before?) and over the course of the next four thrilling hours he rises to become the career criminal that became an embarrassment to the French police and government. Shot all grainy and washed out with an amazing attention to detail we follow Mesrine from bank robberies to kidnap, general violence to daring prison escapes and in a complete juxtaposition we see the family man, the charmer and the comedian. Hailed by some as a kind of Robin Hood figure the film never judges either way and gives you enough information for you to make up your own mind but of course with a figure so complex it's hard when the lines blur. He obviously loves his children doting on them in one scene but in another he smashes a glass in a man's face and beats and leaves a journalist for dead after he wrote a disparaging article about him. What doesn't help is that a lot of what happens is taken from the book Mesrine wrote in prison 'Killer Instinct' a work that he himself has said was slightly exaggerated to make him seen more notorious than he actually was. Overall though the film is a thrill ride from start to finish and can hold its own with any of the great gangster epics. Stylish, violent and gob smacking, it's a must see and with the immersive bravado of Cassel as Mesrine this film will be one that will be held in high esteem for some time to come.
It is a good movie based on French gangster cum Robin hood ( a kind of) Jacques Mesrine, who was also called of Public Enemy No. 1 and man of a thousand faces then. The story tells you that how a common man turns into notorious goon and then as a infamous gangster. Circumstances made him to be a thief, robber, kidnapper and killer. Scenes like between Jacques and his parents, with his wife and kids are emotional and make you to feel sympathy to him surely. Torture in prison also made him stone hearted. But he has a brave heart also to his women and one thing that he did not ever kill anyone without it was not much necessarily. Even a real tale movie will not bore you and you will definitely be waiting for second part. As me it is must watchable saga of a gangster. Coincidently I just watch 'Sacred Games' , an Indian web series which is similar to such subject. But it is too behind from such good movie, no comparison can be done when two are totally different quality. Both have implicit scenes but here you will not feel vulgarity whereas in Sacred Games you find yourself in a intentionally made uncomfortable situation. Any way I suggest this movie to thriller lovers especially who likes criminals biography. Well played roll.
It's the story of gangster Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) from 1959 to becoming known as Pubic Enemy #1 in 1972. In 1959, he's a French soldier forced to kill a prisoner. Upon his return, he and his friend Paul start robbing and working for gangster Guido (Gérard Depardieu). He marries Sofia (Elena Anaya) and have a family. He gets imprisoned. He's struggling with his marriage. He finds a fellow criminal soul in Jeanne Schneider (Cécile De France). They rob a mob casino and leave for Montreal. In 1968, he befriends FLQ member Jean-Paul Mercier (Roy Dupuis). Mesrine and Schneider are arrested in Arizona and extradited back to Quebec as the new Bonnie and Clyde. In prison, Mesrine, Mercier, and others make an escape and go on a crime rampage.
This semi-biopic has so much material to go through. It's an epic that deserves six seasons of big-time violent brutal crime TV drama. This two hour movie feels compressed into a highlight reel of the his gleeful descend. Vincent Cassel is terrific. He's able to maintain the focus with the rotating cast of characters. It needs focus in terms of story but it's a very compelling character.
This semi-biopic has so much material to go through. It's an epic that deserves six seasons of big-time violent brutal crime TV drama. This two hour movie feels compressed into a highlight reel of the his gleeful descend. Vincent Cassel is terrific. He's able to maintain the focus with the rotating cast of characters. It needs focus in terms of story but it's a very compelling character.
We could argue for hours about the point that Richet is trying to make, is he simply celebrating and glamorizing the crazy life of Jacques Mesrine ? Is he trying to say something about the increasing presence of big brother in western countries (the patriot act in the US, cameras everywhere in the UK or the french debate about listings of people etc...)wish supposedly smothers us and would render the existence of men like Mesrine an impossibility? But in the end who cares ? The movie is an absolutely brilliant genre movie, with amazing actors at their best, an incredible recreation of seventies France, very realistic and visceral action scenes (all based on facts by the way !), and Richet's directing is very controlled, precise, you feel he knows what he wants, sort of the anti-Brett Ratner if you will, and the ambiance is spot on too. Time flew so fast when was watching the film, and now i just can't wait for the follow up which should arrive in 2009. truly great stuff !
"Mesrine Part 1: Killer Instinct" is a Biography - Crime movie in which we follow the life of french gangster Jacques Mesrine, his crimes and all his actions until he becomes the number 1 public enemy.
I have to admit that before watching this movie I was not sure what I was going to watch since I had not watched the trailer of it and I had just read one article about this gangster. I was happily surprised by it since it is a very interesting movie, with a well written script and many action scenes. The direction which was made by Jean-François Richet was simply amazing and I liked the way he presented Jacques Mesrine and he combined very well his family moments with his actions and also his love affairs. Regarding the interpretations of this movie, I believe that Vincent Cassel who played as Jacques Mesrine made one of his best performances and he was simply exceptional. I highly recommend everyone to watch this movie because I am sure that even if you are not a fan of crime movies you will like it. If you like crime movies then this is the movie for you.
I have to admit that before watching this movie I was not sure what I was going to watch since I had not watched the trailer of it and I had just read one article about this gangster. I was happily surprised by it since it is a very interesting movie, with a well written script and many action scenes. The direction which was made by Jean-François Richet was simply amazing and I liked the way he presented Jacques Mesrine and he combined very well his family moments with his actions and also his love affairs. Regarding the interpretations of this movie, I believe that Vincent Cassel who played as Jacques Mesrine made one of his best performances and he was simply exceptional. I highly recommend everyone to watch this movie because I am sure that even if you are not a fan of crime movies you will like it. If you like crime movies then this is the movie for you.
Did you know
- TriviaThe filming of this and L'Ennemi public n° 1 (2008), which lasted nine straight months, was done in reverse chronological order so that Vincent Cassel could progressively lose the weight he gained in preparation of the role, as Cassel knew he couldn't gain weight while filming.
- GoofsWhen Mesrine & Mercier are standing on a the roof of the building in Montreal, you can see cars/trucks/vans on the street, you can clearly tell they are modern vehicles and not ones from the '70s when this is supposed to take place.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Gangstars (2009)
- How long is Mesrine: Killer Instinct?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Mesrine : L'Instinct de mort
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $551,697
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $152,873
- Aug 29, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $31,076,533
- Runtime
- 1h 53m(113 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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