Review of Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008) by Stuart K — 27 Apr 2014

Part 2 of the life and times of French career criminal Jacques Mesrine, with director Jean-François Richet and producer Thomas Langmann back to direct the second part. This one, unlike the first part which went to Canada and America, is set entirely in Mesrine's native France and focuses on his later days in the 1970's.

It's longer and more verbal than Part 1, but it's still good. After his exploits in Canada, Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) returns to France in 1972, and has become a notorious figure in the world of organised crime and spends most of his time robbing banks.

But, in 1973, he ends up being put on trial, but he manages to escape again, and goes underground before he's found and arrested by Commissioner Broussard (Olivier Gourmet). Mesrine ends up being sentences to 20 years in prison, but he manages to escape from La Santé Prison with fellow prisoner François Besse (Mathieu Amalric), both dressed as prison officers, and they escape into the French countryside as fugitives.

It's a very good drama, although it is different in tone from the first film, and it does tend to slow down every now and again throughout the film, but Cassel is very compelling as Mesrine, who we the viewer have to accept as our anti-hero, but it is well filmed and has some good moments of suspenseful action throughout.