Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In this action comedy the French boxer Jo Cavalier is charmed on the train to Berlin for the Olympics in Hitler's Germany by the little boy Simon Rosenblum who asks his autograph; when it turns out his adorable young fan is a Jewish orphan in danger of persecution, he risks his one shot at Olympic glory to save Simon and his family, helped only by a German officer-gentleman who became his friend in World War I, by an adventurous escape to Switzerland, Nazi troops on their heals and braving impossible odds in roller coaster-style.
Ace of Aces is a solid, crowd-pleasing French adventure-comedy built around Belmondo's natural charisma and the warm buddy dynamic between the boxer and the Jewish boy. The plot blends sports ambition with a morally straightforward rescue mission set against 1936 Nazi Germany — engaging but not particularly deep or surprising. Belmondo does what he does best with effortless physicality and charm, though the supporting cast is functional rather than remarkable. Visually the film is competent period fare without distinctive cinematographic ambition. Its novelty lies in the unusual combination of Olympic sports, wartime morality, and Belmondo's comedic action persona, giving it a distinct French popular-cinema flavour, though it doesn't reinvent anything. The ending resolves cleanly and satisfyingly in keeping with the film's light tone, without any real subversion or lasting emotional punch. A very watchable, likable film that sits comfortably in the upper tier of French popular cinema of its era without excelling in any single dimension.