alexf-25-270614

I started watching Top Gear during series 10, and was absolutely blown away by the Botswana Special. Cars had always been there for me, but Top Gear made me feel like I belonged. It did that to many of us.

The show(s) has had its up and downs, never quite reaching the same level of quality again, but it felt reassuring to know that on one platform or another, these three were still out there driving to impossible places, sideways, on fire.

We all knew this was coming. And in many ways, it's a good thing. All must come to an end. And what an end this was. A quieter, more intimate episode that felt like everything good old Top Gear was about. And a channel through which to reflect on the past 20+ years. Who were you when you started watching? Who are you now?

Things will never be the same. But they ended on what's perhaps one of the very best episode these guys ever did.

Le chant du loup certainly is an unusual film, in that the global-warfare-french-cinema is certainly a very rarefied genre. Which meant it came with expectations.

The opening sequence is certainly the highlight of the movie, as it carries a sense of tension without being overblown. Sadly, it's all downhill from there. From overly obvious exposition to deus-ex machina and complete disregard to what the Rules of Engagement in the movie's setting would be. And the film crew might gain insights in the submariner's life by visiting an actual one. No, the commander's crew are not a 1000sq. Ft. Apartment *wink wink*.

The film shines when it doesn't try to be a big submarine action flick, but when it does try, it falls short of the many great movies in the genre (The Hunt for Red October or Das Boot, for example).

Since the 60's, the zombie genre has been used and abused in many ways, some successful (28 Days Later, Planet Terror), some not so much (Army of the Dead, for one).

Where NETW distinguishes itself is in the rather bold choice to make this zombie flick human-sized and logic-based. You won't see Brad Pitt fly halfway across the world to save the day, but instead, you'll follow a rather regular guy using his wits to react to a "zombie event", something most of us made imaginary plans for at one point or another.

NETW remains very faithful to this approach throughout its runtime, whilst also integrating the mental health impact such solitude and violence will have on a human being. As a result, I consider it a great success.

However, this writing choice creates the movie's -I would say unavoidable- shortcomings: it's lonely, it's slow, and it sometimes borders on boring. I'd expect nothing less of the zombie apocalypse.