Directed by:
Jean-François RichetCinematography:
Robert GantzCast:
Vincent Cassel, Ludivine Sagnier, Gérard Lanvin, Samuel Le Bihan, Olivier Gourmet, Mathieu Amalric, Michel Duchaussoy, Georges Wilson, Anne Consigny (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Now back in France, Mesrine is finally in police custody and facing justice for his crimes. After escaping a courtroom and kidnapping the judge at gunpoint, Mesrine is declared Public Enemy Number 1 and is eventually condemned to a maximum-security prison where he writes his memoirs, establishing himself as a household name and the anti-hero across France. Mesrine stages another daring escape and disappears into the lawless underworld, taunting the police and reinventing himself as a celebrity criminal through his savvy manipulation of the media. After such a monumental rise, comes the inevitable fall as the police close in, bringing the life of Jacques Mesrine to full bloody circle. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (6)
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.
()
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
()
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.
()
More or less right after the first episode ended, I watched Mesrine Part 2: Public Enemy No. 1. And it probably wasn't a happy decision. The second part of Public Enemy has the same positives as its predecessor - it is well shot and Vincent Cassel excels in it, whose masks may remind some of Al Pacino in Serpico. There are a lot of impressive scenes in the film, especially the "hunt for Mesrine" passage is very good, but there is often also plenty of boredom. Mostly in the moments when Mesrine talks about the revolution. The screenwriters seem to have tried to show us Mesrine's inner self in this film, but from my point of view they did the worst job of it they could - they made me believe even more that the man was just an ordinary conceited kid who never grew up. So I was just waiting for what I saw at the beginning of the first film to happen. Before it happened, I was alternately bored and amused, wondering what good the kidnapping of the billionaire was, and concluding that it was absolutely useless (in real life and in the film), and regretting that Police Inspector Broussard was given so little space. Then came the final stakeout. During the course of it, it became clear why it was not wise to play the films one after the other. There is nothing new (in terms of content) in that scene, and it is so, so long. Again, any kind of point was missing, and unfortunately I didn't take anything away from the shocking ending. Three stars this time - a nicely shot average.
()
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%
()
Ads