LARGO WINCH

Guy’s thoughts on european action...

Clean, clean, clean. Keep the story clean. This is something Americans seem to have forgotten about when it comes to their action movies. They had it, don’t get me wrong. I love “Lethal Weapon”, “Die Hard” and “Beverly Hills Cop” cause they have a good simple storyline, great action and likeable characters. This movie has just that a guy that you can learn to root for, some simple plot points and some kick ass adrenaline action.

So Largo Winch was the beginning a Belgian comic book (yay! they can jump on the bandwagon). But it was not one of those shooting-flames-out-of-their-eyes-jumping-roof-to-roof kind of comic. The character Largo Winch was more of a James Bond type character with Bruce Wayne amounts of money.

So this is what happens. Largo Winch’s stepfather Nerio gets murdered and leaves his company and estate to him worth billions of dollars. They call him in to take over, but wait! Someone at the company want everything for herself (hmm). So she set Largo up and kills off all of his remaining family members. This makes him very angry and he outsmarts the bad guys and regains control of his company. Simple? I would say so.

The acting was better than average and Tomer Sisley (Largo) managed to look capable and a bit of a badass. There’s not many international faces in this movie but there is two. Karel Roden who seems to be the go to guy if you need a generic evil Russian and we also had Kristin Scott Thomas who usually shows up in more arty projects. At least they gave the movie some value on the international market because we all know that the American audience would hate to watch a whole movie without any poster names (bit harsh?). Well, the cast was good.

It seems like Europe might be the front runner right now when it comes to these types of movies. Not that they make more money than the shitty American ones, just that they’re better. Just look at “Taken”, “Banlieue 13”, “Crimson Rivers”, “Kiss of a Dragon” and “Brotherhood of the Wolf”. Some of these might be old by now but they all represent a steady stream of action coming out of France (many of who have Luc Besson behind them). So if you’re tired of bad American action like “The Marine”, “Shooter” or “The Condemned” then browes your foregin section for a bit.

Guy’s review: Should definitely be watched if you like a good action adventure film.

Girl's hizzah! ...

The only bad thing about this movie is that it's made by the dirty French. I'm part French so I can say that.

I love action movies. It's my favorite genre. When I was young (which wasn't very long ago, but I'm saying it nostalgically anyways) I would watch and re-watch the Die Hard series. I would go through phases on which one was my favorite. For a long time, number three was, although it definitely is number one right now by a long shot. Although Largo Winch and John McClane do not have much in common, they still get the job done when it concerns an action story.

Where John would use brute force, Largo uses his smarts. When John has almost no back story besides his wife and family, Largo's past is a huge component to his character. But! They are both handsome (yes, I find Bruce Willis handsome) and charming, and, most importantly, their moral compass always points due north. They always do what's right and needful.

Like Guy said, it's clean and simple that wins the race with action movies, and although it pains me to admit it, the French did a great job staying true to the story in this movie.

Girl's Rating: I tip my hat to you, France. You created something fun and enjoyable for once, instead of slightly insulting and pompous.