Agents Secrets
February 12th 2007 04:48
Big things are going down in Angola. A diamond merchant from Russia is serving the rebels with the money to acquire weapons with which to take over the country, and the CIA are in on the act. Why do these Americans always have to be so immoral?
Alas, Secret Agents is about the French Secret Service and what they intend to do to with the diamond merchant - whether diplomatic or actionable. For the actionable part, we have Georges (Vincent Cassel) and his wife Lisa (Monica Bellucci). The actors are a couple in real life and their love life definitely isn't over-rated, whether on screen or off.
For this movie, they are agents of the French government getting invloved in something they know little about. But when they find out, they act - whether it's obeying orders or not.
Georges finds himself up against the CIA, both stealthily attacking each other - all seemingly in the name of revenge. There is little to be patriotic about in this film. Lisa, although having decided to quit the service (big no-no), is left to carry out another mission with the rest of the team leaving the Casablancan battleground for home.
This leaves the couple with a sense of betrayal from their employers, and more than a whiff of contempt. Georges displays bravado and rebellion against those above him in order to look after Lisa. Lisa falls deeper into the black hole this job has dug for her, played by Bellucci with a deft calmness. Both are expected to remain cool, calm and collected throughout the mission, and they achieve this goal to a large degree.
Secret Agents is very well executed, with a play on the usual action flick that would put James Bond to shame. The director uses a no-frills approach, and this works well with the complex script. And the lead actors are in peak form, regardless of their familiarity with the psychological action flick genre.
Four and a half out of five. Esoteric, exciting and thought-provoking.
Alas, Secret Agents is about the French Secret Service and what they intend to do to with the diamond merchant - whether diplomatic or actionable. For the actionable part, we have Georges (Vincent Cassel) and his wife Lisa (Monica Bellucci). The actors are a couple in real life and their love life definitely isn't over-rated, whether on screen or off.
For this movie, they are agents of the French government getting invloved in something they know little about. But when they find out, they act - whether it's obeying orders or not.
Georges finds himself up against the CIA, both stealthily attacking each other - all seemingly in the name of revenge. There is little to be patriotic about in this film. Lisa, although having decided to quit the service (big no-no), is left to carry out another mission with the rest of the team leaving the Casablancan battleground for home.
This leaves the couple with a sense of betrayal from their employers, and more than a whiff of contempt. Georges displays bravado and rebellion against those above him in order to look after Lisa. Lisa falls deeper into the black hole this job has dug for her, played by Bellucci with a deft calmness. Both are expected to remain cool, calm and collected throughout the mission, and they achieve this goal to a large degree.
Secret Agents is very well executed, with a play on the usual action flick that would put James Bond to shame. The director uses a no-frills approach, and this works well with the complex script. And the lead actors are in peak form, regardless of their familiarity with the psychological action flick genre.
Four and a half out of five. Esoteric, exciting and thought-provoking.
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Comment by JohnDoe
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Comment by Optomistic Opportunism
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Optomystic Opportunism
I think the next one I see would have to be Russian Dolls, though.
Good lookin...