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You'll be happy to know that
Frankenheimer redeems himself. Not that it's that great a movie.
It isn't. But it's made by a director who knows what he's doing
and how to do it well, every step of the way. Pushing 70,
Frankenheimer shows upstart punks like Michael Bay what a REAL
action movie is all about. He never piles on. There are several
car chases, but they're of varing lengths with different sorts of
impact. He doesn't escalate the violence every for cheap thrills.
In many ways its a film about *temps morts* -- something which
DeNiro is past master of. He gives the sort of performance lesser
actors like Spencer Tracy are wildly overpraised for. A
Euro-thriller drenched in late Melville atmospherics ( the title
itself a hommage to "Le Samourai") it features nice
bits by Michel Lonsdale, Feodor Atkin, and Jonathan Pryce.
Stellan Skkarsgard is becoming a really reliable pro. Jean Reno
is, as usual, a comfortable old shoe. Only the female lead
disappoints. But her character is something of a lout anyway, so
it might have been the part as much as the performer. The scenes
shot in what now must be referred to as the Princess Di Memorial
Tunnel are in many ways worth the price of admission. Still, it's
a movie that's not really about anything. Except, perhaps, honor
among tough guys
so-macho-they-don't-have-to-show-how-macho-they-are.
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