The Emperor of Paris

On the one hand, what I find disappointing is that the highly stimulating material of Vidocq’s life (furthermore, backed up by such a great cast, director and production design) is reduced to a mere dime-a-dozen adventure that lacks logic. On the other hand, we can be pleased that it is nevertheless a fine, uncompromising movie in which emotions are well portrayed. In fact, it inevitably seems like a successful adaptation of one of Xavier Dorison's albums. Whether that is a positive or a negative, however, is a completely different question. In my opinion, it is positive and not an insignificant one. (11/17/2019)

France, Vincent Cassel and the best historical film of this year. The main character is the dreaded Vidocq, a famous thief with a great reputation who is forced to work with the police due to adverse conditions and decides to clean the streets of murderers, thieves and similar vermin. Great period atmosphere, a breathtaking Vincent, great narrative pace, awesome sets and plenty of suspense and of course a piece of history. Good stuff. 85%. (08/08/2019)

Jean-François Richet sometimes rushes a bit too much, and at other times he needlessly stalemates in an attempt to squeeze in some of those "sort of artsy shots", but Vincent Cassel and his crew are fine badasses, Paris is wonderfully nasty, and it has a fine Dumasian adventure story feel. If Vidocq comes back with a sequel, I'll be happy. (03/27/2020)

Although Olga Kurylenko was trying as hard as she could to ruin my overall impression with her traditionally non-acting performance, I ignored her and focused my attention on the excellent Vincent Cassel instead. It was no masterpiece, but even though I’m not very fond of French cinema, I have to admit that I had quite a good time. This was mainly due to great action scenes, although the seppuku performed with a saber was way off. But never mind, I appreciate the effort. (08/06/2019)

The atmosphere of The Emperor of Paris is comparable to the French masterpiece Les Misérables, but that's where all the similarities end. Unfortunately, the story doesn't stand on a very solid foundation and thus it feels somewhat fragmented. In addition, the initial tension fades as the story progresses. My full attention was deservedly won by the charismatic Vincent Cassel, but that's not enough to get me excited about the film. (70%) (02/02/2021)