Releasing straight into television, Bastion 36 is the newest work from Director Olivier Marchal, best known for his crime thrillers, Marchal seems to be a fan of the premise of two or more cops in some tricky situation: Gangsters (2002) is about two undercover cops, 36th Precinct (2004) is also about two cops - this particular one has a name very similar to Bastion 36, right? - and, in fact, Marchal's entire portfolio as a Director has films with police officers or police squads, so he is not new to the genre.
In Bastion 36, it is no different. France's worst cop, Antoine Cerda, is everything you'd want to avoid in the police force: he's impulsive, self-destructive, selfish, and naive; And he likes to join underground fight clubs for money, so we can say that he is a bit corrupt as well. His only redeeming factor, though strange, is that he has a strong sense of right and wrong, whatever that means in his confused mind. When two of his former colleagues end up dead and one goes missing, he begins to investigate on his own after realizing that the police seem to be inert in the situation.
The movie starts with a strange chase scene where everything goes wrong and the conclusion is absurd. About 35 minutes into the film and I already wanted to give up and return it to the digital shelf, but out of sheer displeasure in wanting to watch something and the seriousness of the cinematography and themes, I persisted. I can't say that the film improved much later.
My main problem with Bastion 36 is Antoine. For a senior investigator accustomed to organized crime, Antoine looks more like an inexperienced jerk. His immaturity during the investigation is bothering and, even at the end of the film, I can't find any factors or facts that redeem him from his position as the worst cop to get involved in active corruption investigation and organized crime. Fateful, the conclusion of his character arc is at least adequate. I avoid extending these detractors to actor Victor Belmondo who, in general, does a decent job of acting.
The plot itself is a series of clichés of the genre and anyone who takes the slightest pleasure in crime thriller movies will solve the riddle and the events that unfold quickly. Bastion 36 doesn't innovate, plays simple with the plot in hand and unfolds an acceptable but already beaten story. The middle of the plot is interesting just enough to make us want to know what will happen to this whole mess, but deep down we know how it will end. Funningly enough, Bastion 36 adapts the novel "Flics Requiem" by Michel Tourcher, so I wonder how much better is that piece.
This is the kind of movie that works, but it's expendable, a forgettable movie, far from being someone's recommendation off of a hit-and-miss, pronto shot. Maybe if Bastion 36 appears on some list, those who have watched it would say "ok, it's an ok movie" and, in fact, they would be correct.
