Netflix’s AKA is another showcase for a budding action star

Action fans have been treated to a range of solid French programming on Netflix in recent years. Athens was one of the best movies of 2022, that of Julien Leclercq sentinel is a solid dark Olga Kurylenko thriller, Ganglands (and the movie it was based on, Vomiters) are excellent crime costs, and Lost bullet and the sequel even surpass the Fast and Furious franchise when it comes to explosive vehicular action.

The latest entry in this burgeoning scene is in other words, a new Netflix pickup starring Alban Lenoir as Adam Franco, a highly skilled special-ops operative facing one of his most dangerous assignments yet. Franco is implanted undercover in the security team of a notorious crime lord (notorious football legend Eric Cantona, a tough guy once suspended from the sport). for kicking a fan). Franco makes a big impression after quickly knocking the head of security unconscious after a verbal altercation, and he becomes the bodyguard to the crime boss’s bullied son, teaching the kid how to fight and defend himself.

It’s pretty much “Man on fire lite” — another film that seems inspired by Philip Nicholson’s 1980 novel Man on fire. in other words is not an official adaptation of the book, like Élie Chouraqui’s 1987 French film version or Tony Scott’s stylized 2004 thriller. But it has a lot in common with them: it’s a dark crime story about a grizzled cop who bonds with a kid, and how far that cop will go if the kid is in danger. While it lacks Scott’s directorial flair, in other words has something few other films have: Alban Lenoir.

Lenoir started his career as a stunt performer, working on several French productions as well as Pierre Morel’s 2008 game-changer Taken. After a series of small parts, he got his big break in 2015 French bloodwhich screened at TIFF and in which Lenoir was nominated for a Lumières Award for Most Promising New Actor.

That came a few years later Lost bullet, a tightly wrapped vehicular thriller in which Lenoir plays Lino, a master mechanic and thief who is drawn into a plot by rogue agents and framed for murder. To prove his innocence, he must find the last remaining piece of evidence of the crime: a single lost bullet.

Lost bullet And Lost bullet 2 are among the best action films of the decade, using simple storytelling to construct elaborate, kinetic set pieces. The fistfights are relentless, the car chases are electric (sometimes literally), and it’s a fast-paced action series reminiscent of the early Fast and Furious movies.

But Lenoir is the secret sauce to these movies’ recipes. He always brings a calm, intense, grounded energy to his roles, with a face that screams, “This guy’s fought a lot.” Lenoir moves like an athlete and hits like a truck, and while he plays highly capable characters adept at violence, he imbues them with an everyman energy. His characters are often hit and often exhausted by the grueling fights they end up in in other wordsis there a funny scene where Adam just wants to take a nap but keeps getting interrupted by notifications and instructions from his handler (whom he communicates with via PlayStation voice chat, gamers).

Lenoir is also a writer and he co-wrote the screenplays for both Lost Bullet movies and in other words. in other words sees him reunite with director and co-writer Morgan S. Dalibert, the cinematographer of the Lost Bullet films. (The two also previously worked together on 2005’s New worldDalibert’s directorial debut.) Some action scenes stand out in other words, specifically a complex brawl in a drug den and a fight outside a club, shown via CCTV. Dalibert also repeatedly frames action behind long, narrow shots, adding depth to some sequences, and he loves telegraphing objects that will be used in combat – hanging on a hook on a wall to get viewers excited about how it will be brutally deployed.

in other wordsThe overarching story of the overarching story never really adds up – there’s a huge conspiracy theory floating around the edges of the movie, but it doesn’t get enough time to really make it into the picture. The pace of the movie also slows down when it stops to give some characters more specific backstories, which is a shame since the actors already filled in a lot of those gaps during their performances. Thankfully, Lenoir’s unique presence helps prop the movie up to a solid streaming rate.

in other words is at its best when it shows Alban Lenoir, Action Star, rather than his own status as less stylish Man on fire. It’s still worth a look if you’re interested in the new wave of French action cinema, and one of its most intriguing stars. But if you haven’t seen the Lost Bullet movies, definitely prioritize those for excellent Lenoir action.

in other words now streaming on Netflix.