Another great Reno thriller
Author: lastliberal from United States
29 July 2007
I love Jean Reno. He just has that air about him that makes a great detective.Here he plays a retired police detective that was drummed out under mysterious circumstances, or was he? He teams up with a Police Captain (Jocelyn Quivrin) to solve some mysterious gruesome murders in Paris.In the meantime, some nefarious things are going on with the police and the military that involve a policeman's wife (Arly Jover).
Nothing is what it seems in this film. You are constantly surprised and reassessing who to cheer for. While things seem to tie together at the end, there are still questions.Great direction by Chris Nahon, who did Kiss of the Dragon. Great cinematography and music, and great acting, especially by Jean reno.
Author: J_Carls from Nashville, TN
31 December 2006I was pleasantly surprised by this film and have also wondered about the negative reviews. The movie has two problems 1) a problem of perception: it starts off looking like a fairly routine mystery / police procedural, but elements of other kinds of movies begin to trickle in as the plot reveals itself -- which may have confused some reviewers wanting a pure genre piece, 2) the plot IS a little hard to follow in places and depends on one important coincidence in particular. However, the overall story makes sense in a "gestalty" kind of way and I don't think it's a killer issue. Oh, and 3) the English dub (which I turned on a couple of times) should be confiscated and burned.
It's a fairly good dub in syncing the lips, but the voicing is as inappropriate as any bad dub of a Japanese film. For Pete's sake, hire a mimic next time you dub an actor as well-known as Reno.But I take real issue with the critics who labeled as "ridiculous" this or that aspect of the film. People have given high marks to James Bond films that stretched belief far more painfully. The real issue is that the French filmmakers aren't telegraphing the genre to the viewers. Good for them.Offsetting any problems is the wonderfully mysterious setup that ends in a real surprise about 40 minutes into the picture. That's the point when the picture shifts gears and we start seeing the "action/adventure" film which is quite well done.
Author: sergepesic from Minneapolis, USA
15 February 2010
" Empire of the Wolves" is a smart and hip thriller with some supernatural elements. Two, at first glance, unconnected stories slowly, but surely merge and form the whole puzzle. What stands out in this movie is the rainy, drizzly cinematography.Gray, stifled light, lends an oppressive aura to the already deeply affected viewer. Paris in this story is not a city of love and romance. This Paris is a city of filth and rats, of human slavery and relentless violence. Maybe, not a great advertisement for expected tourists, but a welcome twist for movie lovers. All in all interesting and fresh movie, with spark of originality.
I'm starting to like French action movies. This one reminded me a little bit in its feel of Kiss of the Dragon, minus the kung-fu.The colouring and mood of the film are dark and edgy, as are its characters. Jean Reno delivers a good time, as per usual.I will say that the plot twists to the point of nonsense, but it's still a good ride.The film also has a hint of an Islamophobic air, given the current geopolitical climate, but not to the point of being overt.In all, one of the best action films I've seen in a while, highly recommended within its genre.
