Joseph_Gillis In some ways, 'The Lookout' reminded me of the truly awful 'Primer', in that there seemed to be a lot going on, but with the characters only allowed brief scenes and the briefest of conversations to clue you in as to what it was, the odds of you making sense of it all before the credits rolled were so long as to become infinitesimal. Maybe that's just as well, because I suspect neither the director, scriptwriters, or editor(S) had managed to themselves fully join the dots before they'd committed their work to celluloid.The opening heist and Paris city-centre shoot-out, and especially the intriguing use of flashback prologue that preceded it provided enough of a teaser to buy one's interest for at least a good half-hour, but ultimately it only served to leave me cheated, in the way the cruellest of con-tricks does. Successive scenes of gloomy late-night action, and apparent cross and double-cross, might look great on paper, but ultimately, not enough to make one even consider giving it a second - or even third - watch to try to pick up on what you missed, because you quickly realise that what you might have missed was never actually there in the first place.I'd officially given up on French crime cinema about 5 years ago - or whenever the over-hyped and overrated 'The Prophet' was released. I'd determined that all the younger directors were following some template, which usually featured sombre, moody, colours; savage violence - usually including superfluous and titillating misogyny - and slick fast-paced productions designed to compensate for plot-holes.'The Lookout' has all of these - and then some - but 'The Lookout' trumps them all because it has the 'Primer' factor that the other films lacked: "Regardez, mes amis: you don't need to have any coherent plot, because you can use bikini-brief scenes, and half-begun sentences that explain nothing!"This film might be the first truly 'Second Unit' film: it's all about the action, and the slick, fast-paced non-plot, and location shooting. Yes,it features Daniel Auteuil and Mathieu Kassovitz who've done good work in the past, but their presence was required solely to sell the film to a baker's dozen of international financiers. Acting-wise, their presence was superfluous. The presence of so many technicians who are experts in their field might have provided at least a temporary boon to the French film industry, but ultimately I fear it will only become self-defeating, as it will turn off potential viewers.Jean-Pierre Melville must be turning in his grave! (or even pirouetting...!)

Bob Taylor I gave it 5 and that is generous, considering this film does not achieve many of the goals it sets itself: it is not really suspenseful, the characterization is often vague, the plot is not clear at many points (too many characters don't improve matters). There is a Hollywood gloss over this picture that depresses me; surely a French film can call upon a tradition of thrillers dating back to the post-war years: Le salaire de la peur for example. I thought of Melville of course (Le deuxieme soufflé and Le cercle rouge) and Alain Corneau (Police Python 357). The kids who would troop off to see this one will be quickly bored.There is little point in trying to single out any of the actors for praise or blame; they seem interchangeable in their roles. Daniel Auteuil looks glum most of the time--did they not pay him enough? Olivier Gourmet from those great Dardenne movies promised much, but his part was clumsily written and not really understandable.

jef-mead I'm being generous, I know, but consider the misleading 5.something score for this movie to be an anomaly. I first thought this was a 'Res Dogs' copy but it developed into a thoughtful thriller with enough plot to make it compelling. The absence of an obvious 'hero' figure is, perhaps, an obstacle to begin, but a strong ensemble cast contributes to maintaining interest in the conclusion of the movie. The question at the heart of the film, if there is one, may lie with the motivation of the Policeman, rather than the identity of the traitor. A genuinely classy European thriller of a type that can no longer be considered rare ( tell No-One, The Secrets...) but which is well worth a look.

writers_reign What's better than one French policier? Answer: another French policier. If this falls slightly below recent efforts like 36, Quai des Orfevres, it's still far from chopped liver. Daniel Auteuil, packing a tad more weight than of late - possibly for his role of Cesar in the great Pagnol trilogy that he is remaking even as we speak, both directing and taking on the role created by the immortal Raimu - plays the vigilante cop determined to catch the sniper who took out half his squad. He tells us this in an ultimately meaningless opening sequence when he has the sniper in an interview room. We then cut back to two days previously when Auteuil had his squad waiting to catch a gang of bank robbers red- handed. They would have done, too, had it not been for the sniper, Kominsky, who picked off the cops from a rooftop. After this things get a tad convoluted and if it weren't for stiffs piling up we may well wonder who is doing all the coming and going. It's shot in a drab non- color color with blue the predominant shade which suits the downbeat tone. Worth a look.