Mesrine Part 2: Public Enemy #1

Part one was dynamic, stylish, raw, and absolutely riveting in its austere brevity. Part two is also raw, but except for the opening escapades, it is calmer, more compact, and the atmosphere has your nerves stretched to the extreme most of the time, but it is also more descriptive (but not literal). Most importantly, we finally begin to understand Mesrine’s complex character. Together, they are two joined vessels forming one perfect four-hour whole, which in my eyes has become the new quality benchmark for evaluating crime sagas. ♫ OST score: 5/5 (01/29/2009)

Excellent. In comparison to the first instalment, this is a full-blooded FILM, in which technical brilliance goes hand in hand with a good story. Vincent Cassel shows us every aspect of Mesrine’s character, which make sense from the psychological point of view, unlike in the first film. His character has only properly started to develop in this instalment. The movie keeps a steady pace, sensitively altering action with the personal life of the protagonist, and also makes better use of the supporting characters. The only reason I’m not giving this a five-star rating is the fact that Mesrine was something of a dumb asshole, and no matter how good the film you make about such a guy is, it cannot reach the stars. (07/01/2009)

Who knew this French film would become an instant favourite of mine. Vincent Cassel's absolutely flawless and Oscar-worthy performance, outshining star Al Pacino in just about every way, an incredible talent! Jacques Mesrine is really a very big crime icon for me. Yes he was an asshole, but he had compassion, respect, sympathy, high IQ, great opinions worthy of reflection, the guy wanted to tear down and disrupt the regime!! There's really nothing to worry about here, the dialogues, the story, the action, the pacing, the catchphrases really everything is well balanced and cleverly written, an awesome experience without any effects. 100% (08/29/2014)

Interesting opinions and attitudes, well sketched characters and an even deeper study of Mesrine than the opening volume, which was much more engaging and plot-driven. The only thing that really grips and resonates in the epilogue is the finale itself, but we know the basics of that from the second minute of the first episode. (10/20/2015)

In terms of film quality, Public Enemy #1 is fully comparable to the first film in the series, and that is, after all, logical since the same team, starting with the director and ending with the last actor, came together once again for this. The film portrays the last ten years of the legendary French gangster Mesrine. It is as long of a time span as the first part, but due to Mesrine moving from country to country, it feels somewhat fragmented. It also seemed to me that the sequel is slightly more action-packed. Although it is a very high-quality gangster film, I cannot give it five stars for the same reason as the first one. Public Enemy #1 is longer, but that still wasn't enough to produce a worthy opponent within the ranks of the police and justice system or to significantly get to Mesrine's accomplices. Overall impression: 85%. (11/28/2009)