Paris Lockdown

This vicious thriller set in the Parisian underworld centres on a ruthless mob boss (Caubère) who takes a commission on all the illegal activities going on in his sphere of influence. When he goes to prison his gang divide into those who carry on with business as usual and those who see his departure as an opportunity to bring down his empire. Though a dark and stylish gangster film in the vein of classic Scorsese in terms of its terrifying realism, it lacks the necessary gritty suspense, and with no complexity to the characters it ends up more Guy Ritchie than Goodfellas, sans the humour. Caubère gives a chilling performance as the paranoiac kingpin, stealing every scene with textbook malevolence. While fans of the genre may be happy, those looking for more depth and originality in a crime film will regard this as nothing more than another soulless shoot ‘em up. [Neil Whiting]