Too Strange...

If you combine Luc Besson's earlier efforts, 'The Professional' & 'The Fifth Element', with a bad 1980's buddy comedy... you get this stupid silly movie. There is no substance here at all.

I loved 'The Professional'. I thought it was one of the best films of the 90's. It is on my 'All Time Greats' list. But the formula used there, combining Jean Reno as a man of brutal action who lacks emotion with a wild and rebellious young girl, does not work here. It felt as if Reno was sleepwalking through this performance, knowing he had done this before.

The film has the visual energy of 'The Fifth Element'. It is colorful and vivid and never boring to look at. However, in this film, all the visual candy is a distraction to what little narrative there is to be taken seriously. I felt like I was watching a video game, especially in the scenes located in Japan.

I know the Japanese have a bizarre sense of fashion... especially the young crowd, but it seemed that everyone was dressed up like a punk rock Barbie doll. The young actress who plays Reno's daughter is simply irritating... I felt like slapping her and telling her to grow the fuck up.

The jokes and scene structures are all lifted from 1980's comedies. There is no nuance or intelligence to the jokes... it is all unfunny slapstick, which is the worst kind of comedy.

This is a misfire... skip it and wait for a 2009 cable release. It won't make it to TV until then.

© Written by TC Candler

How We Rated This Film TC Candler - D+ Richard Propes - C Jacob Hall -

Richard Propes' Comment

This is a very average flick written by Luc Besson, who simply has too much product on the market these days. This film, starring Jean Reno, is lifeless, predictable and pointless. I tend to enjoy Reno's work, and he does the best he can in this role, however, Reno's the sort of actor who really does require a bit of a grounding to make something happen. Thus, not much happens here. Visually, the film stays interesting but the script/dialogue offers nothing original.

Jacob Hall's Comment

n/a