Jean-Pierre Melville directed some great stuff and some awful stuff, but never did he manage to combine the two as he does in this movie. The opening twenty minute bank robbery in a near deserted seaside town in the pouring rain is amazing, probably the single best setpiece he ever directed. From then on, though, it's all pretty much downhill. Delon lacks his usual presence and appears to be on autopilot (in total contrast to Le Cercle Rouge and Le Samourai); it's a competent performance, but I've rarely seen an actor look so bored. Perhaps he was unsure about the almost total lack of dialogue in the film, which is a shame, as this is one of its few interesting plus points. Many of the scenes take place against obviously painted studio backdrops, which is especially grating given that the opening is so well done. And most laughably of all, the "highlight" of the film, a daring robbery in real time, in which a thief is dropped from a helicopter onto a moving train and then picked up again, is done with models, and looks like an amateurish version of Thunderbirds.
If someone could steal the opening sequence (or 'reference' it) and do the helicopter robbery properly, there's a good remake waiting to be done. Until then, we'll just have to settle for a great lesson in how to open a film.
If someone could steal the opening sequence (or 'reference' it) and do the helicopter robbery properly, there's a good remake waiting to be done. Until then, we'll just have to settle for a great lesson in how to open a film.