Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder.
Mesrine: Killer Instinct is a propulsive, stylish crime biopic bolstered by Vincent Cassel's ferociously committed performance as the legendary French gangster. Cassel commands every scene with magnetic intensity, elevating what is otherwise a fairly conventional rise-of-a-criminal narrative structure. The plot follows familiar biopic beats — formative influences, criminal mentorship, escalating crimes — but the true-story subject matter and Franco-Canadian setting give it some geographic and cultural texture. Cinematography is competent and period-appropriate without being visually distinctive. As the first part of a two-part series, the ending functions more as a mid-point break than a satisfying standalone conclusion, which slightly undermines its impact. Novelty is moderate — it's a well-executed entry in the gangster genre rather than a reinvention of it.