Bastille Day

[Beate]

Surprisingly entertaining if far-fetched action thriller, with a little humour thrown in now and then. Note, I said a little humour - it did not warrant the huge guffaws some people to our right made at every punch thrown. Before the film started, we were sitting with ZoeBanfield, happily chatting about horrid cinema goers and people on public transport, which was brought on by the pushy people behind us in the queue, who nearly ran OH over. I was telling her about the hair twiddler next to me the other week, and wouldn't you know - 20 minutes into the film a couple plonked itself next to us, hair twiddling, giggling and being a pain all the way through. These sort of people seem to follow us around! And why do some people still come in 35 minutes after the start?

Anyway, back to the film. Lots of violence and explosions, plus a thrilling chase across Parisian rooftops. I really felt for the pickpocket at the end - he hadn't reckoned with the shit he'd get into with Idris Elba when he nicked that bag. But do we honestly believe anyone could have walked away unscathed from a bomb blast that close?

6/10

[yogi]

Great fun. It was pacy, never giving you a chance to try and unpick the plot, had some laughs and some genuinely thrilling action scenes.

And despite a corny first scene Idris Elba's charisma made you forget how cliched his 'rule breaking, but getting results good guy' was. There were nice moments with the pickpocket guy and Charlotte Le Bon added a bit of class and weight to what could have been the helpless girl role. And did anyone else think that Victor could have been Robert Downey Jr's French twin?

Good entertainment, it didn't break many rules, but it certainly got results 8/10

[kevinknapman]

Passable thriller that is just about daft and entertaining enough not to seem too tasteless due to real life events happening in Paris a year after it finished filming.
Idris Elba and Richard Madden's double act added some welcome humour, Charlotte Le Bon made what could have been a thankless role decent and it was good to see Spiral's Gilou (Thierry Godard) on the big screen as one of the bad guys.
An undemanding time waster that could have been worse.
Admittedly the most entertaining aspect of the screening at Kingston was the man at the front of the cinema who snored very loudly for the last half hour.

[akh43]

Great fun. It was pacy, never giving you a chance to try and unpick the plot, had some laughs and some genuinely thrilling action scenes.

And despite a corny first scene Idris Elba's charisma made you forget how cliched his 'rule breaking, but getting results good guy' was. There were nice moments with the pickpocket guy and Charlotte Le Bon added a bit of class and weight to what could have been the helpless girl role. And did anyone else think that Victor could have been Robert Downey Jr's French twin?

Good entertainment, it didn't break many rules, but it certainly got results 7/10

I really enjoyed the film, a big Idris fan so this was right up my street. Some great action scenes, a few laughs and it certainly was a thrilller. I didnt go in with high hopes so was pleasantly surprised.

I was thinking the same about Victor looking like RDJ, I had to double take when I first saw him.

I give it a 8.5/10

[McG]

I too loved this film. Action thriller which was highly entertaining. Idris was excellent as usual as was most of the cast. I did have a lot of sympathy for the pickpocket but loved his ambition to get a job with Idris given the adventure he had with Idris thinking that he was now qualified. I could definitely see another film coming out of this. Definitely worth seeing.
Marks 9/10

[baty]

I was looking forward to this as an Idris fan and was not let down.
Fast paced (so that you hardly noticed the cracks) with really good action - fights scenes, car chases and just plane running over roof tops.
The pairing of Idris and Richard Madden as the pickpocket worked well and I did wonder if it left an opening for another film together. Charlotte Le Bon as the main female input was not going to be sidelined into a soppy, defend me role thank goodness, well done girl.
Yes I too recognised Thierry Godard.

Did find the the ending a little white house down meets die hard.... but it is a film not reality.

BUT the main question is RDJ and Jose Garcia, twins separated at birth?????
8/10

[prettyxcool]

What a great film to return from holiday to. Absolutely brilliant, right amount of suspense, humour, a good story! Idris Elba is brilliant, love to see more of him based on this character, it would not go amiss. Really enjoyed! 9/10

[chelle1973]

I really enjoyed this too. And it also got the thumbs up from maw & paw 8/10

[Jayman]

I wouldn't give this anything more than a 6/10.

It's enjoyable for what it is, which is a wannabe Luc Besson action thriller almost identical in style to Banlieue 13/From Paris With Love/Brick Mansions/Taken/Transporter.
What lets it down is the depiction of social media 'trend' setting and cringe-worthy Anonymous-style public announcements (Mr.Robot too suffers from this).

Overall, it's passable entertainment thanks to committed performances from Idris Elba and Richard Madden.

[Noorjahapatel]

Absolutely brilliant. Great acting, roller coaster action, lots of violence together with conspiracy, exactly what I like in a film! I just don't see how American surveillance or jurisdiction would be allowed in France! Well worth seeing. Super entertaining 9/10