L'ennemi public n°1 2008

Tom Long, Detroit News: Yes, he was a bad guy; but what a great story. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: In the title role, Vincent Cassel is a relentless force... Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Mesrine's life, however fascinating, had a certain repetitive quality to it (commit a crime, go to prison, escape, meet a girl, commit a crime, etc.), and the movie eventually starts to feel this way as well. Read more

Tasha Robinson, AV Club: At its best, it's a mesmerizing portrait of a man who mesmerized a lot of people, right up to that bloody display of police power on the Paris streets. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Gantz's camera gets right in the thick of the action, deliriously weaving and whirling up close. It's as high on Mesrine's crimes as he is, and Cassel exchanges the stolid tension of Part 1 for a manic theatricality. Read more

Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News: [It] doesn't dig deeply into why Mesrine was the way he was. It's propelled by such a forceful performance from Cassel that, in the end, it hardly matters. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Jacques Mesrine's end may be inevitable, but he certainly doesn't bore us along the way. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: His violent, pathetic end makes you sad not for the man but for a world in which such a creature could exist -- and thrive. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Performs the unlikely trick of being both taut and plotless. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Cassel, looking hopped-up and wily -- and gaining considerable heft to play the celebrity outlaw in his middle age -- once again delivers a performance of full-force magnetism. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: If there's ever a film titled Bourne vs. Mesrine, the bout will end in the first round and the crown will return to Paris. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: You needn't have seen the first chapter to be swept up in this swirl of bloodletting and braggadocio. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: Unlike its more lively predecessor, this is more interested in dissecting the criminal mindset. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: Mesrine: Killer Instinct is episodic to a fault, with few scenes playing more than a minute or two. The effect of Richet's hyperventilating filmmaking is akin to that of an extended-play trailer. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: Mesrine's promised end in November 1979 arrives as history recorded it, but, by that time, you're hoping the next vogue in biopics is the short film. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: Director Jean-Francois Richet and screenwriter Abdel Raouf Dafri's movie generates much heat, but little light. Read more