Ultimate Heist

Despite the Armenian church service and the historical introduction, the ethnic theme is a bit weak (and do the Armenians in real life actually have their own mafiosi?), and this hasn't the richness of Melville, or 'The Godfather,' or Téchiné's 'Les Voleurs.' But this film is satisfying precisely for the qualities that cause some to dismiss it: it's understated, elegant, and sensually pleasing, with beautiful images and a musical accompaniment far above genre and cool, classy criminals who project a sense of being fearless and professional. This is the kind of stylish European crime film with sleek cars, sunlit villas, and drives along the Riviera that you can enjoy for the atmosphere as much as anything else. Everyone dresses in black. Sami Bouajila's cop too (Bouajila the actor also himself a consummate professional, very solid here); his black outfits are just a bit dustier and shabbier. Gaspard Ulliel grows up here from most of his earlier roles (after already having become macho and heroic as the peasant hero of the 2007 'Jacquou le croquant') slicking his hair back, bulging out of his designer clothes, peering over his designer shades. Both he and Réno show very little emotion, projecting instead the dedication of stoical members of a tight clan. I don't know if you can believe Antona's plan of breaking away. How is he supposed to do that by taking over a hotel in the Camargue set up by somebody his father works with, right under his nose, and without the money for the down payment? This is less convincing and less well developed than something like Thomas Seyr (Romain Duris) wanting to become a concert pianist in Audiard's 'The Beat My Heart Skipped'. But this to me is like the beautiful, elegant 1957 'No Sun in Venice' ('Sait-on jamais'), directed by Roger Vadim, which a user wisely said is "worth it for the music and the visuals." Only 'Le premier cercle' ('The Ultimate Heist,' sadly generic title) doesn't have a classic sound track by the Modern Jazz Quartet. 'Le premier cercle' also relates to the Marseilles-based "Frank Riva" TV trilogy starring the aging, mellower Alain Delon. But 'Le premier cercle' is more stylish and restrained. It lets you wallow in cool.

I love Jean Reno (Leon: The Professional, Godzilla, Ronin, The Crimson Rivers). That may color my impression of the film as a whole. He plays an Armenian mafia head in France. He is cool, tough, and everything I have always loved about his acting.

Gaspar Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement) plays his son, Anton. Anton wants out of the mob and wants to live a normal life with his love Elodie, played by Vahina Giocante (Lila Says).

Sami Bouajila (Days of Glory, The Siege) is Saunier, the police inspector trying to catch the gang as they plan one last heist that will set them up for life.

Director Laurent Tuel did not waste a second in this dark film. It was captivating from beginning to end, even if it turned out as expected. The soundtrack was excellent. It was worth watching just to hear it.

Very handsome young gangster wants to leave the family business and lead a normal life but he needs money so one last heist.

Other reviewers cover the story in detail so I will not and just give my overall impressions.

No, this is not a great movie. However it is OK and entertaining.

The production values are low rent trying to be high rent. What do I mean? Well there are great shots from the air but they don't grab you like they do in a comparable film like Anthony Zimmerman.

The story is predictable and full of holes....you don't attack an airport and plane any more without getting the entire national defence force down on you--France has lots of Mirage fighters and so forth that would have been scrambling.

I guess overall this is pretty good boiler plate gangster flic avec un accent Français. There are many better The Double Hour, The Aura etc....

A hard-boiled, slickly entertainingly, bullet-paced Policier about an infamous Armenian crime family ruthlessly headed by powerful boss, Milo Malakian (Jean Reno). His rebellious, altogether less bloodthirsty son, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel) secretly wants out, enjoy some bucolic domesticity with his lava hot nurse fiancee, Elodie (Vahina Giocante). Needless to say his son's imminent defection, ever mounting paranoia, and the relentless hounding by vengeful L'inspecteur Saunier (Sami Bouajila) bodes ill for the fractured Malakian clan! While formulaic, the action is dynamically mounted, performances are uniformly credible, Alain Kremski's lyrical piano score is a delight, and the terse, volatile atmosphere is frequently redolent of a vintage Lenzi Polizioteschi! Laurent Tuel's consistently gripping 'Le Premier Cercle' is an above average Euro-crime thriller that, sadly, seems to have been overlooked. The desperate airplane heist is genuinely thrilling, and Jean Reno fans are in for a real treat. If 'Le Premier Cercle' had been shot in the late 60s, I could readily see, Alain Delon as Anton, and burly Lino Ventura as Milo!

This movie could have been so much better. The cast, the location, even the plot (thin as it was) was good. Especially the cast. I expect great things of Jean Reno. Perhaps the budget caused the director to pinch things.

I did like the homage to The Godfather with the scene following where the grocery bag falls to the pavement. Nice touch.

There could have been so much more, but the movie felt hollow. The actual heist itself seemed to me almost an afterthought. Such a pity, because the drama could really have been built there step by step, scene by scene. I kept waiting for the payoff. Frankly, I was confused at which player took the bullet until the denouement. The last third of the movie was muddy, or perhaps 'smoky'.

I really wish that I could rank this movie higher than I did, but that's show biz, I guess.