Review of Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (2008) by Chris W — 06 Dec 2011

Much like Che, the second portion of the Mesrine saga, while good, isn't as strong or as focused as the first portion. Still though, it's a lot of fun, and very watchable. The first is fun too, but the fun seems more evident here, mostly with the scenes of shopping, and of course the many scenes of armed robbery, kidnapping, and escapes.

Heck, since those last few things are the bulk of the story over deth, character, and substance, they pretty much have to be fun, otherwise what's the point? There's no drastic stylistic change this time around, though there's a more prevalent sense of doom. There are a few sequences where thigns got so tense and suspenseful, I almost couldn't handle it. How things end was not a surprise, but still, the final like 15 minutes are absolutely gripping.

Cassel once again shines as Mesrine, and he looks great with all his various hair styles, wigs, and varieties of facial hair. He was pretty well born to play this part. The cast ae mostly new this time around, and they too are all pretty good, especially Mathieu Amalric.

The music remains good, as does the camera work, and, as I state,d the only real downer is that this entry seems a little less focused and really seems to make the statements of "What's the point?", or "Why should I care?" a little more obvious.

Still though, this is terrifically entertaining stuff that is really well made and makes me happy that there are still directors out there interested in making cinematically excellent action and crime films.