Bastille Day
Go! It's 'American Luther', in France, chasing criminals! Sacré bleu!
Rebellious agent hunts Parisian terrorists.
Oh Idris, you hulking son of a gun. We can’t get enough of you beating down doors in a woolly coat, growling at bad guys and doing all the wrong things for the right reasons (and vice versa). Seasons of Luther are simply too short. Two episodes for Season 4?! Come on you old tease. What are we supposed to do until Season 5?! What’s that? Bastille Day, you say? A movie in which you star as a “reckless, insubordinate and irresponsible” CIA agent? Sounds positively Lutheran! Tell me more while you bark at me and maybe slap me around a little. Oh yeah, that’s the good stuff.
Sean Briar (Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation) is a Paris-based CIA agent of few words and even fewer qualms. He is called into action when a bomb is inadvertently planted by American-pickpocket-who-stole-the-wrong-bag, Michael Mason (Richard Madden, Game of Thrones). In an attempt to contain what appears to be an American act of terrorism, Briar’s stick-up-his-ass boss (Anatol Yusef, Boardwalk Empire) sends him out to find Mason before the French Tony-Stark-a-like intelligence chief and his cronies do.
Sean Briar (Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation) is a Paris-based CIA agent of few words and even fewer qualms. He is called into action when a bomb is inadvertently planted by American-pickpocket-who-stole-the-wrong-bag, Michael Mason (Richard Madden, Game of Thrones). In an attempt to contain what appears to be an American act of terrorism, Briar’s stick-up-his-ass boss (Anatol Yusef, Boardwalk Empire) sends him out to find Mason before the French Tony-Stark-a-like intelligence chief and his cronies do.
As the story unfolds, and Mason’s intervention is revealed as accidental, Briar goes off-orders and sets about finding the true criminals, using Mason as his light-fingered assistant. And yes, nothing is ever quite as it seems.
Although Elba is a wonderfully versatile pony with many acting tricks, it is still surprising that it has taken so long for him to play a maverick detective on the big screen. Perhaps he is holding out for Bond, but until then, Bastille Day is a slightly-more-than-typical cop caper, which allows him to do what he does so well – romp around a capital city, kicking down doors and chasing bad guys. Briar is a simpler, less troubled character than Luther, allowing Elba the actor to relax in the back seat while Idris the handsome battering-ram swings into cruise control. Madden’s mischievous thief gives him a useful and well-performed counterweight, keeping the friction warm and both characters simmering nicely.
Although Elba is a wonderfully versatile pony with many acting tricks, it is still surprising that it has taken so long for him to play a maverick detective on the big screen. Perhaps he is holding out for Bond, but until then, Bastille Day is a slightly-more-than-typical cop caper, which allows him to do what he does so well – romp around a capital city, kicking down doors and chasing bad guys. Briar is a simpler, less troubled character than Luther, allowing Elba the actor to relax in the back seat while Idris the handsome battering-ram swings into cruise control. Madden’s mischievous thief gives him a useful and well-performed counterweight, keeping the friction warm and both characters simmering nicely.
Like all good police thrillers, Bastille Day has a fibrous story that slowly untangles itself, strand by strand. It gets a little knotted at times with elements of political commentary, heist, terrorism and espionage all highly-strung together, but there is plenty of subtle misdirection and action-packed distraction before each twist. It holds its momentum and avoids the embarrassment of becoming too outlandish while remaining enjoyably far-fetched. It even manages to gently touch on pertinent questions about the risks of prejudiced responses to terrorism and the ease with which social media can be abused and manipulated by those with a nefarious agenda. The inclusion of real French dialogue (!) maintains sense of realism that would have been lost without the honesty of subtitles, and the Gallic cast all provide convincing support for the two leads. Altogether, it’s a light, entertaining and well-made 90 minutes of good guys vs bad guys cinema, with Elba adding his increasing star quality to elevate it beyond the ordinary. He even sings a song over the closing credits (for real!).
So go. If nothing else, by increasing the box office figures you’ll be supporting the “Elba for Bond Fund”; making a worthwhile contribution to the exciting possibility that we will one day see Idris drinking shaken martinis and stirring up trouble at MI6.
So go. If nothing else, by increasing the box office figures you’ll be supporting the “Elba for Bond Fund”; making a worthwhile contribution to the exciting possibility that we will one day see Idris drinking shaken martinis and stirring up trouble at MI6.
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