22 Bullets

A classic tale about a reformed gangster who one day finds his past breathing down his neck, but it is also a classic (and this is important) French tale. All the reasons I love movies with Ventura, Gabin and others can be found here. A chilly, unpredictable atmosphere, great main character, family values vs. criminal values... I really liked Jean Reno in the lead role. Charly Matteï is actually his first proper character since 2004's Hotel Rwanda and he really needed him. The director, Richard Berry, is completely unknown to me, but the opening twenty minutes, in which "it all" happens, won me over to the max - the shootout is spectacularly bloody and the transfer to the hospital and the passage in which everyone gradually learns of Mattei's shooting is again extremely imaginatively shot. As I suggested, if this film had been made thirty-five years earlier and starred Alain Delon or Lino Ventura, it would undoubtedly be a classic today. Four and a half for Badelt's music. (11.06.2013)

A straightforward action affair called 96 Hours, with a kitschy plot and screenplay, which, except for the protagonist, does not contain any characters and adores violence, celebrated an unprecedented commercial success and has become the most successful French film of the last decade. So it makes sense that we now have a whole series of imitators, i.e., films based on action coming from the American film school, a criminal environment, and an uncompromising battle with a pile of corpses on the way to the protagonist's revenge. This time the creators cast the legend of French action, Jean Reno, in the main role, but I feel that he is a bit old for this type of character and his performance feels like a template of dozens of previous similar roles. Additionally, the screenplay is quite hastily put together and the direction couldn't save it either. Richard Berry is a respected and popular actor in France, but this profession obviously suits him better than directing, which requires a lot more from a person. I also resent the familiar conflict between a good and bad gangster, which turns universally accepted ethical norms upside down. The good gangster only murders, steals, bribes, smuggles, and cheats, while the bad one wants to distribute drugs. Well, we certainly haven't seen that in a film yet - it's a brand-new idea! But then why do a couple dozen film titles, including The Godfather, come to mind? Overall impression: 40%. (05.08.2011)