A hard-boiled, slickly entertainingly, bullet-paced Policier about an infamous Armenian crime family ruthlessly headed by powerful boss, Milo Malakian (Jean Reno). His rebellious, altogether less bloodthirsty son, Anton (Gaspard Ulliel) secretly wants out, enjoy some bucolic domesticity with his lava hot nurse fiancee, Elodie (Vahina Giocante). Needless to say his son's imminent defection, ever mounting paranoia, and the relentless hounding by vengeful L'inspecteur Saunier (Sami Bouajila) bodes ill for the fractured Malakian clan! While formulaic, the action is dynamically mounted, performances are uniformly credible, Alain Kremski's lyrical piano score is a delight, and the terse, volatile atmosphere is frequently redolent of a vintage Lenzi Polizioteschi! Laurent Tuel's consistently gripping 'Le Premier Cercle' is an above average Euro-crime thriller that, sadly, seems to have been overlooked. The desperate airplane heist is genuinely thrilling, and Jean Reno fans are in for a real treat. If 'Le Premier Cercle' had been shot in the late 60s, I could readily see, Alain Delon as Anton, and burly Lino Ventura as Milo!
