Largo Winch - Deadly Revenge [DVD]

The DVD unfortunately has no extras except for a trailer. Transfer (in 2:35) is very good. There are no subtitles for the English-speaking parts, but there are English subtitles whenever the language spoken is not English.

The film is excellent. Sadly a bit unknown, probably because of its French/international personality, but it's certainly better than the James Bond films of the last 40-ish years. It's very entertaining, and a very good adventure thriller in its own right: the plot and script are very tight, the direction is excellent (with the tension actually depending on direction rather than Bourne-ish shaky cams, and with great emphasis on location), and the pacing is very even and decently built. Finally: Alexandre Desplat's score really is the icing on the cake. Certainly in the top three of action scores in the decade. Highly recommended film, certainly for this ridiculously low price!

Largo Winch is one of those big glossy disposable action films that France regularly turns out to prove that they can do that sort of thing as well as Hollywood. Based on a hugely popular series of Belgian novels and later comic books and clearly intended as a jetsetting James Bond-like franchise, Anthony Zimmer director Jerome Salle's film kicks off with Miki Manojlovic's billionaire murdered on his yacht, throwing the fifth largest conglomerate into the world into panic until it emerges that he had a secret adopted son (Tomer Sisley) to whom he's left 65% of the shares. Of course, what with a hostile takeover bid from a shady Russian gunrunner (who helpfully introduces himself with "I'm the story's bad guy"), a traitor in the company's ranks and the odd attempt on his life, this is more interested in chases in exotic locations from Hong Kong and South America to not-so-exotic Croatia than boardroom manipulations. As such it's a slick, enjoyable and forgettable package with no surprises - it doesn't take much to anticipate each plot development before it happens - but which provides undemanding entertainment if that's what you're looking for. Like Group W, the film's something of a multi-national itself, shifting from French to English to Croatian to Spanish as the locations demand, with the cast a similar mixture of French (Gilbert Melki, Melanie Thierry, Anne Consigny), British (Kristen Scott-Thomas, Steve Waddington, Benedict Wong) and East Europeans (Karl Roden, Radivoje Bukvic), but it manages to avoid the usual indigestible Euro-Pudding feel by virtue of its relentlessly globetrotting plot. A sequel's already in the works, co-starring Sharon Stone in an effort to get the theatrical release in the English-speaking territories that this didn't manage.

The only extra is a trailer but the disc has a decent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.

The storyline spanned a number of exotic locations and there is plenty of action and corporate intrigue to be had.