With this well-crafted action film broadcast this Friday, January 24, 2025 at 9:10 p.m. on Canal+, Roschdy Zem shines in a physical register in the guise of a tormented former soldier. Notice to fans of the genre…
Except perhaps for the supercharged Lost ball (on Netflix), French cinema has unfortunately been getting too little attention in the field of action in recent years. So yes, Florent-Emilio Siri’s latest film is imperfect. But he is full of qualities that we take pleasure in highlighting… More than twenty years later Wasp nestthe director of Cloclo returns to his first love with Elyas. Roschdy Zem plays a former special forces soldier haunted by his past in Afghanistan. Lonely and paranoid, he accepts a job as a bodyguard for a young girl and her mother from the Middle East. When he begins to become attached to the child, they are targeted by a commando.
Elyas : the successful action sequences of Florent-Emilio Siri
Whether we like his style or not, Florent-Emilio Siri knows how to stage the action. Bullets fly, shots go off, and car tires squeal on the road: spectacular scenes of formidable effectiveness fluidly punctuate a thriller that is unpretentious on paper. The assault of the first part of the film nevertheless manages to make an impact. Just like a final rescue eyeing the side of Taken. Filmed in sequence, a confrontation of incredible violence in a caravan even has us glued to the seat. What if Elyas willingly uses the leitmotifs of the genre, he also stands out thanks to his hero who is more tortured than the average Hollywood figure of the genre. The director takes the time to characterize his character and allows himself in the editing of interesting biases linked to his psychotic disorders.
Elyas as heir to Man on Fire et Rambo
Mutic and suffering from post-traumatic stress, Elyas arises more in inheriting from the protagonist of Man on Fire (the incomparable Denzel Washington) thanEqualizer (him again). The most cinephiles will even see in him a Rambo 2.0. He is an almost unbeatable soldier but a vulnerable man, consumed by paranoia. He doubts what he sees, which maintains suspense from start to finish. Never doubled for his numerous stunts, Roschdy Zem proves convincing as a damaged hero whose shell opens little by little upon contact with the little girl he protects. Let’s hope thatElyas (re)launches a wave of tricolor action. After Roschdy Zem, it is Guillaume Canet who is currently distributing the hits on Netflix in To Life. Whose turn is it?
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