Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

marcjajara This is a terrific film that I thoroughly enjoyed. Gerard D always terrific and is yet again here. I'm also a massive Daniel A fan now. Great if slightly familiar story but well told. It's an atmospheric and consistently exciting film. It's really well directed and full of great actors. Very highly recommended by me anyway. I don't know anyone else who has seen it so interesting to read other reactions of English speaking (re)viewers.The story isn't the easiest to follow especially when following all the subtitles but well worth the effort. It feels a bit like a Scorsese film circa 1980s. The locations are also fantastic. Actually I think I might watch again now.

johnnyboyz It appears almost obligatory for a film such as 2004 French thriller, simply entitled by that of a number in "36", to be compared to Michael Mann's 1995 opus Heat; such comparisons seem synonymous with said film whenever a fresh feature of its ilk exploring the dynamics between friends and foes all existing and pot-boiling with one another within the same pan on the same hob comes along. Olivier Marchal's film, working from a screenplay he contributed to, is at once a fine police procedural movie but additionally a well played out crime drama and family ties serial which broods and comes together really nicely. The films are close to all-but stylistically similar, 36's poster greets us with that metallic blue hue rife within certain Heat sequences as two big-shot actors playing up to their off-screen persona's appear to be about to head into a one-on-one duel of some kind; projects in which they have both worked together resonating at the back of our minds as we head in ourselves.In the stylistic department, our lead actor, Daniel Auteuil, repeatedly cuts rather-a dash as a younger Pacino from around the mid-90s. Like Pacino's Heat character, he operates now and then with his criminally minded underworld contacts, whilst there is the sequence in which he must illustrate to his wife the dangers and difficulties of bringing his work life and work ethic into that of the domestic set up - somewhat reminiscent of a similar Pacino driven scene in said film. Both film's additionally see a dramatic, early armoured van heist act as the catalysts for the respective films. 36 is probably without the thematic substance which ran throughout Heat, of which pertained to the two male leads; here, Auteuil's police officer Léo Vrinks and Gérard Depardieu's police officer of similar rank Denis Klein sharing dissimilar relations in that there is certainly no love lost nor sense of mutual respect that the two men share in their respective lives or lifestyles. This doesn't detract from the film in any way, in fact Marchal's utilising of Mann's film as a source point before going down differing routes is to be constructively acknowledged.Crucially, the film paints a portrait of these men at odds with one another as numerous sub-plots and events occurring around them unfold and contribute in their own precise way to the plights of each man. In Vrinks, we have a police officer with connections of that the criminal underworld which goes against standard regulation, and yet is arguably one of the more upstanding characters in the film. When he exacts some agonising payback on a man in a secluded wooden area, whom is guilty of putting a local prostitute through a fair ordeal, we come to realise of his methods and that such activity has an overbearing sense of it being induced by gangsters, or is the sort of reaction gangsters might follow through with themselves. In Klein, the film provides us with an initially staunch and firmly straight-laced cop whom sticks to the straight and narrow in that sense but is a boozing, aggressive, self-centred man with a big build and out for an item as illegitimate as revenge.We begin in the present before flashing back to the events which lead up to Vrinks lying disgruntled and upset on a prison bed; the props and items in his cell suggesting the respect the man carries, that he is permitted such things or that there is a leniency inferred onto him hinting at minor offences or just sheer pity. When we flash back, we see Vrinks enjoying healthy company at a restaurant's bar with other police officers, during which one has his masculinity mocked for attempting to recite some poetry during this, a send off for a retiring official, establishing a certain bravado or macho set of characteristics for the police officers of Vrinks' department. The outgoing is the superintendent, his verbal establishing that his post is now there for the taking for somebody coming through such as Vrinks or Klein a proverbial prize looming at the end for what transpires; his additional confirmation that his desire to catch a gang of robbers whom we saw pillage that armoured van is strong, and sees him get-across a certain urgency to get this done so as to form a sort of swan-song.The item which drags both Klein and Vrinks together is in the form of a murdered informant Klein was rather fond of, a crime perpetrated by a Vrinks contact whom made sure Auteuil's cop was there to witness it; the fallout causing an immensely enjoyable power struggle within the confines of the police force as numerous supporting characters, such as wives and so forth, cause particularly harrowing events to entwine spawning all manner of strife.Essentially what 36 deals with, or at least feeds off of in order to induce dramatic effect, is that of corrupt police officials; an issue rife within a lot of contemporary French thrillers of both this ilk and of varying others, usually ordained by films from the factory of Luc Besson. Marchal's film is not another scuzzy excuse to exploit sensitive issues surrounding that of the problems France clearly has with political or authoritarian figures for sake of cheap, action imbued frills. Where Besson's writer/producer accredited films carry with them a belittling sense of introducing without really exploring, 36 encompasses police corruption as a subject apart of the film's process; symptomatically deconstructing those within and getting under the proverbial skin of such a caricature or authoritarian archetype whilst blending in genuine and authentic narrative elements in the process. The film is not the cynical, half-hearted show on how corrupt and narrow-minded police officers are, but in fact is a richer and more scholarly character study which is rarely, if ever, uninteresting.

edumacated this film starts out with the promise of hard core-action in the vein of 'HEAT', but transcends into a drama beyond the expectations of the first ten minutes. this film takes the best of the old french dramas and mixes it with the best of the new french thrillers: that is to say, less dialog, and more action. the problem with older French dramas was way too much dialog. there was so much talking, without action, that the rules of story were left moot. a character is defined by action--not dialog: the same as real life. but one thing traditional French drama did excel at was sweeping story lines.this film mixes a traditional drama storyline with a new, new wave French thriller's understanding of action, and births a competent Hollywood-type hybrid that leaves Hollywood in the dust.for the most part, whenever Hollywood attempts this scope of action and storytelling it fails miserably. this film does not. and it manages to do so within one generation, and just one film. French action-crime cinema has come a long way, but it does so in deference to its Hollywood teacher--as it should. and it is always refreshing to see a student surpass the teacher.

TdSmth5 This is an intriguing film about police work that misses out on quite a few opportunities for greatness. Unfortunately, it's not as similar to Heat as it purports to be. It lacks the action, the tension, the human interaction. We begin by meeting the retiring cop Eddy and his buddy Vrinks who are working to catch a band of armored car robbers. Their nemesis is Klein, a sleazy and ambitious cop. When Vrinks gets a tip from an informant he's put unknowingly in a tough situation, a situation that will haunt him later on. Once Vrink's group sets up to catch the robbers, the envious and drunk Klein screws up and gets Eddy killed. This earns him the repudiation of almost the entire police force. But he's got a card up his sleeve. By coincidence he gets to find out about the situation Vrinks got himself in thanks to the informant. That turns the tables in favor of Klein. Vrinks ends up in jail and Klein not only exonerated but promoted. To make things worse, Klein involves in the death of Vrinks' wife who was contacted by the informant to offer help. While this may sound quite exciting, there is a surprising lack of action in this thriller. There are a few short scenes to establish Vrinks as the good guy willing to do anything to catch the bad guys and as someone who stands by his friends. Klein is the opposite. The bad guys don't get much screen time. This is more about the lives of the cops. But strangely, it feels very distant and cold. Perhaps this is appropriate since the topic is police work and not teenage drama queens and kings. Still, the human factor is missing in this French movie. What is intriguing, but not exploited adequately is the political aspect. We meet the police brass and associated bureaucrats that support Vrinks, at least in spirit, but end up acting in favor of Klein. To some extent, this story line is quite realistic. Good guys do finish last, and the slimy sleaze balls do win. Klein, however seems too much of a nasty traitor to be favored even by gutless politicians. There is a point in this movie where it all seems too dark. The good guy has lost everything and there seems no way out whatsoever. It's as if the filmmakers overdid it. For instance, the whole storyline about Vrinks wife is really unnecessary. Vrinks had plenty of reason for revenge even without her death. I, too, have problems with the score. At times it is very similar to Heat's and used to create tension and excitement. The problem is that while Heat delivers action and excitement, 36 doesn't and the music just seems like a manipulative device. Similarly, the editing used cuts most scenes into very short bits disconnecting us entirely from the characters and from any chance at conversation. Overall, this movie succeeds in what it sets out to do: to get us to like the good guy, hate the bad guy and cheer for revenge. There is some effective realism: the despicable judicial system, the revolting behind-the-scenes politics that tie the hands of law enforcement and promote incompetence, the underground network of bad guys, etc. But you are left wanting more: more heists by the robbers, more police operations, more about Klein, more sinister string-pulling by politicians, more buddy work by the good cops. In a way this movie is a combination of Heat and Miami Vice. It takes the coldness and distance from Miami Vice and puts it in the context of Heat. I think the reverse would have made for a cooler movie: the excitement of intimacy of Heat in the drug underworld of Miami. Still, this is a very enjoyable thriller just be aware that it will not turn out too be as great as one hopes.