Viewed – 10 June 2011 Blu-ray
Director Luc Besson may be more of a producer these days, responsible for franchises like The Transporter and District 13, but back in the nineties, he was responsible for some of the coolest movies ever made, most notably Leon. Following the success of that thriller that launched the career of Natalie Portman, we have this much hyped sci-fi epic starring Bruce Willis and an at the time unknown Milla Jovovich.
Viewed – 05 March 2010 Cinema
French director / producer Luc Besson has made a bit of a career for himself in recent years since hanging up his directing cap, as a writer mostly responsible for a slew of credible thrillers like Taken, The Transporter and District 13. Yet such writing credits pale in comparison to his directorial work, and again this is another offering that doesn’t quite do the man justice.
Brit actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays a rookie government agent, thirsty for promotion who gets paired up with a reckless, gung-ho John Travolta (sporting a surprisingly cool looking bald head & goatee) and find his life turned upside down in the process. Set in Paris for no other reason than the fact it’s a cool setting, and 90% of the production team are French, we follow our odd-couple of government agents from gun battle to gun battle interspersed with some bonding. Story is so light as to be none existant and this seems mostly a vehicle for Travolta to show off his action credentials in some stylish, frantic gun battles as we watch him gun down stereotype drug dealers and terrorists and eventually reveal his plans to stop an assassination. Rhys Myers is likable if poorly developed, and not one character in this has any depth and a few throwaway lines to their past count for nothing. This is primarily a male testosterone fantasy of a movie with car chases and plenty of attitude. I at first found Travolta’s over-acting a bit forced and unbelievable, but after a while grew to like the guy, and paired with such a straight man, it made for a fun buddy movie – but sadly there is little else to recommend this over a wealth of better movies out there.
Verdict: 2 /5
Other movies, better than this that Luc Besson has wrote:
Viewed – 01 Jan 2010 DVD
He confuses me, Luc Besson. Arguably one of the coolest French directors, who gave the world the impeccable ‘Leon’, now spends most of his time writing movies for other people to direct. Still it has to be said, they still remain very much his babies, most notably Liam Neeson vehicle ‘Taken’, ‘The Transporter’ series and now this, the follow-up to a stylish but silly thriller about a crime-ridden district in near-future Paris. This one follows on after the events in the first movie, as corrupt special agents kill a couple of patrol officers then dump their squad car slap-bang in the middle of the district, and then create fake gunfire to cause the residents to retaliate, and capture the events on camera. This then leads to rioting and violence as a war erupts between the authorities and local gangs, and soon the president is calling for the place to be nuked. This at first complex set up gives the movie a better driving force than the last outing, with a bigger theme than before.
Soon enough under-cover cop Damien (Cyril Raffaelli) is calling on old-friend and free-runner Lieto (David Belle) to break him out of custody after being set up, and before long they are recruiting the gangs to fight and prove their innocence against a corrupt regime. What separates this from other political thrillers is the sheer style and finesse on display … the action here is all about acrobatics, kung-fu, very painful looking stunt work, car chases and a funky dance soundtrack, meaning you will struggle to catch your breath throughout the 90 minute running time. The stronger story and better character-interplay makes this a vast improvement over the previous movie, and the action seems more drawn out and impressive. Basically this is District 13 perfected. I urge you to check it out.
Verdict: 4 /5
Viewed – 12 December 2009 DVD
Not to be confused with recent sci-fi blockbuster District 9, this French thriller from producer / writer Luc Besson follows the story of athletic, free-running street kid Lieto (David Belle), who after some nasty business with some gangsters, finds his kid-sister kidnapped as he falls into the hands of the local police. Imprisoned and unable to save his sister, hope comes when an undercover cop (Cyril Raffaelli) breaks him out of a prison van and recruits him to infiltrate the district again, save his sister, and stop a bomb from exploding.
Of course the plot is bonkers, with a magufin that’s been seen a million times, but hey, this is style-heavy, has much of the personality evident in Luc Besson’s directorial efforts like Nikita and Leon, but lacks a certain air of professionalism amidst some startling stunts, brilliantly choreographed martial arts and an electro-dance soundtrack that booms around the room. The editing is a little too flash for its own good, and the characters wafer-thin at best, but it is a helluva lot of fun, and as a showcase for free running / parkour this is a must see.
Verdict: 3 /5
Viewed – 26 Feb 2009 Blu-ray
It’s that rare breed, a film that seems to completely surprise you and take your breath away. Only a few such films have made me punch the air in such a way, namely Fight Club, Pulp Fiction, Switchblade Romance etc – when everything comes together and it all just works. This is one such film, and I’ll warn you, this is a very gushy review.
Liam Neeson plays an ex-CIA spy craving quality time with his daughter who he has mostly missed growing up because of his work, causing his marriage to Famke Janssen to fail as a result (shame). Then when the daughter gets the chance to go to Paris on holiday with a friend, Liam is naturally a little cautious, but chooses to give in for the sake of getting closer to the family he has become estranged from. Then on Paris trip, daughter is kidnapped, and Liam has to spring into action to save her from disappearing forever. Using all his ex-spy training he must find who is responsible and make them pay – usually very violently. Now what makes this so good, is that Liam Neeson plays such an assured, hard-as-nails part that he out Bonds even Daniel Craig in the chiselled out of granite factor, as he takes on seedy gangsters and small time criminals to get answers … breaking faces, cracking skulls and shooting a lot of bad people.
Add to this the harrowing reality of human trafficking and the real-life stories we hear every day of people going missing, this is both a high-octane action movie and a thought provoking reflection of our own messed up world. With producer Luc Besson also writing this he lends no end of class to the style and the action, whilst at the same time making it look and feel totally real. Some may find this disturbing, as so they should, but few should disagree that this is one of the best action thrillers in years.
On Blu-ray this is pristine looking with plenty of fine detail, helped greatly by the lush Paris locations. The DTS Master Audio is also very effective, with plenty of effects, especially during the shoot-outs and car chases. Extras-wise we get behind the scenes footage, a making of and a bonus view segment that gives you a counter, tracking every person Liam injures or klls during the movie. Pointless but fun. So, not packed, but an admirable effort for such a quality movie.
Verdict: 5 /5
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