Konterr Brilliant and touching

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Claudio Carvalho Chief Inspector Mattei (Daniel Auteuil) and his team identifies bank robbers In Paris. They keep the group under surveillance and when they heist a bank, they are ready to arrest the criminals. However, the sniper Vincent Kaminski (Mathieu Kassovitz) surprises the detectives and the gang escapes. Soon Mattei and his team arrest Vincent that does not accept to snitch his friends. When Vincent flees from the prison, Mattei hunts him down in a cat and mouse game and learns what happened to his son that died in Afghanistan. "La guetteur" is a French thriller with an excellent storyline and promising beginning with a fantastic shooting after the bank heist. The cast is also great, with Daniel Auteuil, Mathieu Kassovitz and even a cameo of Fanny Ardant. Unfortunately the screenplay has several pointless subplots and becomes a mess from the moment Mattei learns what happened to his son in Afghanistan to the disappointing conclusion with Mattei letting Vincent go without any reasonable explanation. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Atirador de Elite" ("Sniper")

trow61 I wasn't expecting too much from this film given the previous reviews. That said, other reviewers seemed to really quite enjoy it but, at the same time, awarded a low score?! I didn't find it too predictable (which is my pet hate), though that's largely because I didn't expect it to stray into another genre. The acting, direction, and production were all good. The action was surprisingly brief, which I liked too - more realistic than the twenty minute free-running/car chase scenes to which we're routinely subjected.OK, this film probably employed a sub-plot or two too many, was morally questionable, and, was a bit fanciful, but hey, that's French crime thrillers for you?!

writers_reign What's better than one French policier? Answer: another French policier. If this falls slightly below recent efforts like 36, Quai des Orfevres, it's still far from chopped liver. Daniel Auteuil, packing a tad more weight than of late - possibly for his role of Cesar in the great Pagnol trilogy that he is remaking even as we speak, both directing and taking on the role created by the immortal Raimu - plays the vigilante cop determined to catch the sniper who took out half his squad. He tells us this in an ultimately meaningless opening sequence when he has the sniper in an interview room. We then cut back to two days previously when Auteuil had his squad waiting to catch a gang of bank robbers red- handed. They would have done, too, had it not been for the sniper, Kominsky, who picked off the cops from a rooftop. After this things get a tad convoluted and if it weren't for stiffs piling up we may well wonder who is doing all the coming and going. It's shot in a drab non- color color with blue the predominant shade which suits the downbeat tone. Worth a look.

GUENOT PHILIPPE I enjoyed this french action packed thriller. I would say it is a strange film, weird. Not because of the acting or directing, but because of the story itself. When the movie begins, you can't guess what's going to happen next. No way. There are many subplots and also sub characters. and some sequences seem have been let on the cutting room floor. Some lines sound strange; for instance, what the hell a character like Oilivier Gourmet's one - a sadist - would have done with the hoods who capture Mathieu Kassovitz, just before Francis Renaud saves him?It remains unexplained...Yes, I consider this is a weird film, but I like this. This is unusual. I love this kind of story lines.The ending is rather exciting but although predictable.I guess the director was influenced by Jean Pierre Melville, he picked Bourvil's character's name from LE CERCLE ROUGE - commissaire Matteï. Daniel Auteuil's character is interesting in his hopeless quest of vengeance.A bittersweet film that deserves to be watched.