Les beaux mecs

I enjoyed this but wouldn't rate it as highly as some of the other reviewers here. Some of the scenes were a bit contrived and events were glossed over - how do you adopt a child "just like that"?

I liked the format of flashbacks and the make up department did well to age or rejuvenate some of the major characters when they moved away from events forty and thirty years previously. However, I found it odd that a couple of the actors played their old selves as well as their characters in the distant past.

Kenz was a character. The actor playing him had the council estate lingo off pat as well as the accents. The scenes with the "gangstas" in the Cités" were acutely observed. Also true to life was the way they acted like they were invincible and did so for "respect" which led to the failure of their missions on occasion. It's a complete contrast to the way the old-style gangsters operate. We grew to like Tony le Dingue aka Crazy Tony and could sympathise with his situation despite his amorality in terms of criminality.

I watched in a two-day period. I wasn't completely hooked but had no difficulty in coming back to each new episode. To me, it was a solid series rather than a brilliant one.