AKA

I've always read imdb user reviews before, and this is my first time reviewing a movie, because this French movie AKA on Netflix surely deserves a review (there's none yet at the time of my writing).

AKA is like a combination of some well produced movies that come to mind such as the Bourne series, Taken, Nobody, John Wick, Heat etc. Heroes who should just have been left alone. Heroes with good souls who have to decide who to protect, whose orders to follow, and what to fight for.

There's a lot of action, fighting & shooting. But these are not the mindless kind of fighting. The script is not bad with unexpected stories and characters. The action hero is played by a French actor Alban Lenoir I have never heard of, who manages to play the role just as well as Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, or Keanu Reeves would have played had they acted in this movie.

I give it 9/10. If I were the movie editor, some scenes could have been cut out and were not necessary, to reach a wider audience. Other than that, most of the characters were well played; the action scenes were done very well; the script was clever with an appropriate overlay of effective music soundtrack.

Honestly surprised by how good this movie was. I watched it with a low expectation, so just pretend that you have not read my review, don't know anything about this movie, and watch it with no expectation or idea about the movie.

AKA (2023 release from France; 118 min) brings the story of Adam Franco, an undercover special opps guy who is afraid of nothing or nobody. The French Minister of the Interior's chief of staff orders Franco to infiltrate a criminal gang in order to track down the whereabouts of a bombing suspect.... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the feature length directing debut of Morgan Dalibert, previously a well-known cinematographer. Dalibert co-wrote the script along with Alban Lenoir, the erstwhile stunt man-turned-actor who plays the role of Adam Franco. These two know each other well, having collaborated on "Lost Bullet". Here they bring a gritty crime drama. I must admit that based on the film's opening sequence, I was expecting something more glamorous, but once the story really got goin, I found myself fully invested. Let me be very clear, tough: this is a very violent movie, and the body count is off the chart, so if that is not your thing, please find something else to watch. Eric Cantona alert! Yes, the French soccer star from the 1990s who played for Manchester United for 5 years, has continued to build a very nice acting career after retiring from football. Here he plays the head of the criminal gang, one of the pivotal roles in this film. Bottom line: my expectations were surpassed with this movie, and these 2 hours just flew by.

AKA started streaming on Netflix just last weekend, and I watched it last night. If you like a crime drama that is gritty and violent, yet that is also wildly entertaining with solid performances all around, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Dalibert is no stranger to this genre of action film. He could have taken the easy route and strung together a series of action tropes to move things along. He knows how to do it. He has done it before. And well. But this time he rolled the dice on a much harder bet. This time he teased out the characterizations to keep the viewer hooked. This is most definitely NOT some sort of clever hodge-podge of different movies. The closest analog is MAN ON FIRE 2004, which also relies heavily on the interaction between a hardened killer and a young boy. This may not be a film for everyone, but the more time you spend with it, the more interesting it gets. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

The rating (6.7) doesn't justify this beautiful movie.

Take Jason Bourne and John wick and add alot of emotions and drama and realness.

The action is very raw, the suspense keeps you on the edge from start to finish, some twists here and there and the performances are the real treat here.

Specially from the main character. How he is Introduced and where he gets at the end of movie is understandable. Unlike many big action/thriller (big budget) movies, you actually understand every characters decision making. Even those who don't get much time for character development.

For a Netflix movie, it can't get much better. We need more of this Netflix. Budget well spent.

AKA French action movie on Netflix created by the team Lost Bullet. The story follows an undercover agent who must face an emotional test when he infiltrates a gang of criminals and unexpectedly forms a close bond with the boss's son.

This is an action-drama movie with well-written plot details that successfully blend moral principles with the role of a killer spy. Despite Alban Lenoir not having a traditionally handsome appearance, his acting skills in this movie are much more impressive compared to his previous work in "Lost Bullet." His intense solo action scenes are still present even though the movie emphasizes more on the drama aspect. Overall, this is a highly recommended streaming movie that should not be missed.