Mesrine: Part 1 - Killer Instinct review
The first instalment of the Mesrine epic, recounting the life of French mega-criminal Jacques Mesrine, oddly begins with a title stating that no film depicting real events can be wholly accurate. Most intelligent people realise that “true stories” are, and often need to be, embellished for dramatic effect, so what’s the motive behind this message? What are we about to see? Are we supposed to take the film with an extra pinch of salt? This is hardly the ballsiest of starts.
The fast-paced, action-filled film is often gripping but it is also all too often frustrating as the piecemeal story jarringly jumps from one, usually brutal, sequence to the next without being held together by any obvious common thread. By the time more odd, unnecessary text pops up at the abrupt ending, the two hours have flown by and been largely entertaining but the prospect of another two hours for part 2 isn’t overly compelling.
14th Aug 2009 | Official site | On IMDb
