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• Information:
• Title: (Empire of the wolves, L’Empire des loups)
• Certificate: (15: UK)(18: IRL)
• Released by: (Sony Pictures)
• Run Time: (123 minutes: PAL)
• Origin: (France)
• Languages: (French, plus English Dub)
• Subtitles: (English, Could be hearing impaired)
• Vintage: (2005)

Retired hard arsed French detective Schiffer is called upon to investigate the murders of three illegal Turkish immigrants whose bodies have been mutilated by detective Paul Nerteaux, in the course of the investigation they stumble across the “Grey Wolves” who are a Turkish right-wing political organisation plotting to their own ends and involved in the usual criminal deeds. They come across an amnesiac Parisian housewife of a Police detective who finds out that her face isn’t the one she was born with and who might be connected to the “Grey Wolves”…

The film stars Jean Reno (Léon, Ronin), Arly Jover (Blade) and Jocelyn Quivrin (Grande école) as Schiffer, Anna Heymes and Paul Nerteaux. It was directed by Chris Nahon (Kiss of the Dragon) with a screenplay by Christian Clavier (Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre). I wonder why Jean Reno is emphasized by the DVD case and posters and everything else? Because the rest of the team are pants. The Director has only done two films including this one and the other was a Jet Li flick…

I usually include extra information but this film doesn’t seem to have any at all, I’ll just say then that it was shot in Paris, and Istanbul mainly and features show of the worst plot points I’ve seen in a film, I think the easiest thing to say in regards to extra information is the facts of the DVD, It is dual language featuring the Original French and an American Dub (Can’t read subtitles eh?). It has the subtitles that are needed for original playback fortunately so there isn’t any loss. The DVD case does say that they are “English -Hard of Hearing” but since it has been three and a half months since I watched it I can’t remember the state of those said subtitles.

As it goes I can’t really say too much about this film without saying that it is bloody dreadful, makes me scream with horror when I see the clichéd hard detective, the goody goody detective and the amnesiac women who seems not to like the life of a Parisian housewife (shame)… It’s just a litany of clichéd horror, cops and politics with some cliché criminals to boot and the good old government conspiracy thrown in to make things even better. Also there are some seriously grizzly scenes with dead female bodies that in my opinion smack more of pulp torture rather than an autopsy of victims of dreadful murders.

Realistically this film isn’t very good and I even find it hard to talk about it, The conspiracy plot in my opinion is right at home in the latest Hollywood blockbuster rather than the less vain European cinema that I come to expect from France.

The One thing that saves this film somewhat is the acting lead by Jean Reno’s years of experience, Still I do happen to think that Ronin or Léon are still better choices if you want to see Jean at his best. Arly Jover isn’t too bad but doesn’t deserve any awards anytime soon and personally I’d pack her back off to the US. Jocelyn Quivrin isn’t too bad either but falls short of Reno in these stakes.

I’ve already complained about the weak and clichéd plot but I think It’s worth pointing out that I get the feeling Astérix isn’t really needed in a thriller [cyanide], Personally I believe that it would have been a better move to get a writer who can actually write although I hear it was based on a book which doesn’t say much for Parisian and indeed French authors. Lets just hope it wasn’t a Frenchman who wrote it as that would be real shame.

The time comes when you also question the cliché of having the illegal aliens Turkish and involving Turkish politics in a vain attempt to say “we are better with all our democratic ways”, I’d throw myself off a bridge if I one day woke up and started writing that kind of nonsense.

The cinematography is a shining point though with the darkness of Parisian immigrant life shown as it as it should be but still I somehow get the feeling that I don’t really care about them, a mark off on the directors scoreboard.

Actually a lot of the scenes try to scare which was helped by the fact I watched this film at four AM although I didn’t find myself feeling in anyway scared to the point where I would even raise an eyebrow, mark that off as another failure in the atmosphere department.

I’ve decided upon a slightly unofficial set of scores for my reviews from now on which will be accompanied by the Official eMagi/Janus score. These scores reward and punish various things like acting and atmosphere and originality of the film. But First comes the Official score which for this film of dreadful concepts and egotistic politics is (4/10).

Originality: 3/10
Atmosphere: 4/10
Acting: 5/10
Plot: 3/10
Commercial appeal: 7/10

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