Cash [DVD]

Looking at the cover, I thought this is going to be one of those gun blazing French action movies. The synopsis also suggested it will be action packed. Best way to describe it will be to say this is similar to Oceans 11. Heist, double crossing, some comedy, not violent, but flows and has a descent twist. As long as your expectation is not for a great gun trotting action thriller then this is enjoyable.

What do you get when you put two of France's most charismatic stars in a glossy comedy about conmen? Not much in the case of Eric Besnard's Ca$h, which stars Jean Dujardin as a smooth operator and Jean Reno as his rich potential father-in-law, who may also be his latest pigeon. Throw in a murdered brother, a jewel heist, some mercenaries and Valeria Golino's cop who is either out to arrest them all to get a promotion or may be planning a bit of larceny herself if she can outwit the Internal Affairs men shadowing her and you've got a fairly predictable who's playing who caper with no new wrinkles to make it stand out. There's a feeling of ticking boxes, with none of the surprises or panache needed - this con is all front, going through the motions but never really convincing you. Dujardin's fine as the lead but Reno's not even pretending to bring his A-game to this one, Golino, saddled with an unconvincing tan and a hairstyle that makes her look like a barmaid in EastEnders with a slightly higher dress allowance, doesn't strike any sparks while Francois Berleand is wasted in a small sidekick role and Ciaran Hinds seems to be playing his senior detective like a disinterested bloodhound who gets irritable when you try to move it from it's snug place by the fire. It's perfectly watchable, but the neat payoff isn't really enough of a reward, making this one for the die-hard fans of the stars.

Boasting the kind of blatantly misleading packaging that is their stock in trade (in this case selling it as an action-packed thriller), Metrodome's UK Blu-ray is a sloppy affair that they clearly just rushed out to capitalise on Dujardin's success with The Artist: a decent but far from outstanding 2.35:1 widescreen transfer with occasionally hard to read subtitles, no menu options beyond `Play' (though the film is chaptered) and only a few unrelated trailers as extras.

This is a stylish crime thriller starring Jean Reno as an uber criminal who does con tricks on deserving sorts that the French call `pigeons' and many a feather gets to fly in this full on scam-athon. The synopsis is that slick grifter Ca$h (Jean Dujardin) has his finger in many crime pies, and whilst his brother is pulling another scam he gets murdered. Ca$h wants to avenge his brother and so sets out to pull off a plan so cunning that it will take a mind more devilish than him to thwart.

Enter Jean Reno as Dubrreuil, or is he? They are also being chased by top police woman Julia who is a careerist crime buster, or is she? And femme fattalle Garance who is a sweet little French flibbertigibbet- or is she? You have to keep guessing as they go from one con to the next it is often difficult to work out who is playing who. You also never get to decide who the good guys and we even have an English police boss - or is he? Well yes he actually is English but can he trust his own men, well you are going to have to watch it to find out.

As mentioned this oozes style the music is a bit of a conundrum though as it verges almost on sixties parody akin to The Pink Panther at some points which I am sure was unintentional, but it gets the care free and louche life style of these high class crooks across very nicely.

It is brilliantly filmed and acted with just the right amount of Gallic self confidence that we Brits either find threatening or endearing - either way we is just jealous. Everyone seems to be effortlessly chic and they all have fab cars from Range Rovers to Convertible Minis (they are a great car I've got one and yes there are some BMW's and Bentleys, and Renaults, but Minis do rock. Enough of the cars, this is Riviera fun and there are some leaps of faith required with the plot if you stop and think. But this is one of those films that is so fast paced that you deliberately over look any plot contrivance and just let it wash over you, this is so close to being five stars really but I am awarding four purely because I am not French - only joking I ruddy loved it and so it gets the lot

In French with stylish sub titles and with a run time of an hour and a half or just over this is a film with more twists than a Chubby Checker song (well the one about twisting any way).