I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

22 BULLETS (aka THE IMMORTAL) is based on the true story -- but doesn't let that hold it back. After Jean Reno gets the titular 22 cases of lead poisoning he understandably comes out of retirement for revenge. So yeah, he's a 'good' gangster (no drugs) and the story hits familiar beats (it's just a matter of time until someone in his family gets kidnapped) but it's still a slick piece of entertainment that lives off Reno's weary stare. Sometimes he comes across as too much of a machine (even a paralysed arm barely seems to slow him down) and there's a predictability to the way in which he has to hunt down the eight gunmen who shot him but the Mediterranean locations are gorgeous, the violence is suitably furious and there's lots of great actors in the supporting cast (who wouldn't sit shiva for the widowed Jewish cop-ess?).

This film starts with great promise. It has a decent cast, it's well acted and well shot. We know we're looking at a revenge film, but at first it appears that it will at least be an original and interesting take on the genre with some insights into the French criminal underworld. After 45 minutes it becomes glaringly obvious that this is unfortunately not the case.Our protagonist is a retired mob figure and loving family man who is shot 22 times by 8 masked gunmen and survives. He then goes on a hunt to take down each of the 8 shooters as well as the man who ordered the hit. Cue, horrifically clichéd dialogue, and a plot as formulaic as an episode of Sex and The City. If there was a little comic relief or if it was all played a little more tongue in cheek, this would have offset the frankly patronising predictability of the plot and the awful dialogue, the likes of which Arnie would have laughed at for being too cheesy.Jean Reno is very watchable as always, and there are at least some reasonable chase sequences. The films biggest problem is its inconsistency. I'm always happy to sit down to a good old adrenaline pumping gruesome gangster flick, but this films spends half its time trying to do serious drama which only makes the other half even more laughable.

I have to admit that 22 Bullets is quite a bit more violent than I'm comfortable with; bursts, yes but this revenge thriller starring the venerable Jean Reno is fairly constant, unrelenting and rather ugly.Yes, it's certificate 18 and is about mobsters, current and ex, slaughtering each other, so I shouldn't be surprised and of course, I could have turned it off. But, it's quite a good movie, quite a long one at a whisker under two hours and so I stuck it out. My three stars is not altered by feelings on this aspect.Reno, as Charly Mattei is reliably grizzled and back in his native language, does not suffer the stumbling block he had with the English language that he did when he made films in the U.S. Here, he's natural and believable - not exactly likable but it's impossible not to side with him when he stalks his enemies. There's a pretty high body count, accompanied by some very realistic looking wounds, that really aren't very attractive to look at! The make-up department did well, here.The music has a big part to play in creating the tone, often thunderous and pounding and along with often frenetic camera-work, the film's undeniably jolting and exciting, though those prone to suffering one may well get a migraine as bad as the one that one of the mobsters did.There are a good number of reviews for this title that outline plot details. I'm going to leave that out - people don't need to read that over again.All in all, it's a solid movie on a familiar theme, quite involved with some exciting action and stunts. Reno is very good, as all the actors are. If you like your thrillers full-blood and graphically violent, then this could well be an excellent rental or DVD purchase. Me - it's not my favourite and will leave it at that.

For decades the Americans were the pioneers when it came to making gangster movies. From The old James Cagney movies all the way up to the obvious Scorsese flicks. The Brits had their day thanks to some entertaining Guy Richie movies but over the last couple of years there is a new Don Corleone of the film world and that's the French.Films like La Haine , A Prophet and Mesrine are some of the best gangster movies i have seen in recent years and 22 Bullets is just as good as these.I love watching Jean Reno . He has such an interesting face. A cross between Robert De Niro and Silverster Stallone and quite frankly a better actor than both. ( well at least anything De Niro has done in the last 15 yrs). This is a gangster movie in the purest sense. Violence , death , revenge and immorality - everything you would want from the genre.This film looks fantastic . The acting is of the highest quality and the story is gripping , if not a little predictable.22 Bullets was so much better than i was expecting and i recommend it if you enjoy gangster movies such as Jean Reno's most famous movie , Leon.