/filters:quality(75)/rating/M.png)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/kraven-the-hunter-2.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-2.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/kiss-me-kate.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/heretic.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/wicked.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/maria.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/gladiator-2.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/the-room-next-door.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/the-brutalist.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/here-2024.jpg)
A bomb goes off in Paris and a manhunt ensues. Believe it not, this is not a news headline but the plot of the latest action blockbuster starred Idris Elba, 'Bastille Day'. Admittedly ballsy given the current security climate, but I guess when you can laugh or be entertained by such things you know the world is healing, getting stronger and the terrorists are definitely not winning.
On the eve of Bastille Day, France's biggest holiday and city-wide parade, a bomb goes off. Only the bomber is a naïve wannabe anarchist trying to please her boyfriend, and the bomb is taken by clueless master pickpocket Michael Mason (Richard Madden) when the chaos erupts. His photo is plastered across the city, and a CIA cell operating without the French government's permission are on the case. But all isn't as it seems. With rogue agent Sean Briar (Elba) tracking down the thief, the city is erupting into anarchy, fuelled by social media and a grand puppet master behind the scenes. So who's the real bad guy? And what is he really up to?
In the spirit of 'Taken', this is a raw, rough, no-innocent-bystander kind of action flick where everyone gets F-ed up. Idris Elba is the perfect action star - he's big, beautiful, can deliver a line, and knows how to be scary when he wants to be. He and Madden work together beautifully as the good guy badass and the wise-cracking innocent.
So here's the niggle: Elba and his colleagues play American CIA agents. Madden's character is also American yet none of them are American in real life - they are, in fact, all English. Last time I checked, Britain also have a spy agency and their proximity to France makes it more likely and plausible that they'd actually be in Paris. This is also not an American production. So the mystery remains. As for the story and its extreme relevancy - it rings sadly true when the bad guys start screaming out hashtags to instigate more rage in the protesting mob. Forget 'Unfriended' or 'The DUFF', no movie showcases the true, real power of social media better than 'Bastille Day'. Who would have thunk it?
Great action, hot cast, good chemistry, witty dialogue and a story to give you nightmares because it's all just a little too real. Now that's entertainment!
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-war-of-the-rohirrim-2.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/thelionking.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/sleepingbeauty2.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/pocahontas.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/theswallowsofkabul.jpg)
/filters:quality(75)/toppic/titane.jpg)