Empire of the Wolves

The French filters and video clip-like direction are fine, but the screenwriter does something indescribably awful. A jumble of several stories, plenty of empty and meaningless references, plot twists that are absolutely incomprehensible, and the whole thing is one big confused mess. The action is minimal, and when it does happen, it is easily drowned out by blaring electronics. The action sequences are all incredibly poorly shot and confusing. I don't understand how Chris Nahon could fall so low. Kiss of the Dragon was quite good, but this is really too much, he didn't even manage to portray rainy Paris well, and the atmosphere overall is bland and uninspiring. Jean Reno is only here as a star, as he doesn't practically do anything. A very unnecessary film, I would say... (04/30/2006)

Empire of the Wolves - a film with a good idea, good actors, good atmosphere... And a film with a crappy script. The first hour was fine, there was always something going on and I was curious how the two stories were connected: The search for a young cop-sympathizer who has enlisted the help of a dashing retired maniac Jean Reno, and the part with Anna, who feels that not everything in her life is as it seems. The stories intersected and I thought - OK, still good. Then came one twist (let's call it that), another (unnecessary), a third (even more unnecessary)... And a great scene on the spiral iron staircase, after which I think Empire of the Wolves should (and could) have ended. It didn't happen, and the writers decided to invite me on a trip to Istanbul, where the full finale takes place - it's spectacular and the desert shots are nice to look at, but it seems to have come from a completely different film. In the end, I give the Wolves a clean three stars, or slightly above average. The Crimson Rivers it is not, but fortunately it is not soulless crap either. (07/11/2010)