Rivières pourpres II - Les anges de l'apocalypse, Les (2004)

Director:

Olivier Dahan

Writers:

Luc Besson (writer)
Jean-Christophe Grangé (characters)

Release Date:

18 February 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Thriller | Action | Crime

Tagline:

An unholy crime... An unstoppable killer... Caught in a deadly tide.

Plot:

Pierre Niemans faces the threat of the apocalypse while investigating a series of ritual murders.

Plot Keywords:

Religious Fervor | Parkour | Secret Passage | Crime Investigation | Police Detective

Cast

Jean Reno	...	Pierre Niemans
Benoît Magimel	...	Reda
Christopher Lee	...	Heinrich von Garten
Camille Natta	...	Marie
Johnny Hallyday	...	L'ermite borgne
Gabrielle Lazure	...	La femme de Philippe
Augustin Legrand	...	Jésus
Serge Riaboukine	...	Père Vincent
André Penvern	...	Père Dominique
Francis Renaud	...	Flic Reda #1
David Saracino	...	Flic Reda #2
Michaël Abiteboul	...	Flic #1
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Flic #2
Jo Prestia	...	Emilio
Cyril Raffaelli	...	Prêtre tueur

Also Known As:

Anges de l'apocalypse, Les (France) (working title)
Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse (International: English title)
Fiumi di porpora II - Gli angeli dell'apocalisse, I (Italy)
RP2 - Les anges de l'apocalypse (France) (trailer title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and some language.

Runtime:

100 min | France:97 min | Switzerland:87 min | Argentina:97 min | Mexico:98 min

Country:

France | Italy | UK

Language:

French | German | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Iceland:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | USA:R | Norway:15

Filming Locations:

Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg

Company:

Studio Légende

Trivia:

The guns used by the main characters in this film are: Niemans (Jean Reno): Taurus PT 99 Reda (Benoit Magimel): HK P2000 Marie (Camille Natta): Ruger SP 101

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene where Reno get hit, there is a close up view on the machine gun feed belt where we can clearly see that it's blank ammunition they are firing on

Quotes:

Reda: You still never told me.
Commissaire Niemans: What?
Reda: The name of your dog.
Commissaire Niemans: I found an interesting name, a dangerous dog's name.
Reda: For a Yorkshire?
Reda: Yes, I called him... Reda!

Movie Connections:

References Ghost Busters (1984)

Soundtrack:

I Wanna Be Your Dog

Book of Revelation Illustrated for the Movie Audience

While many new writers search for bizarre story material as subject for action thrillers, few have looked to the scariest source of all - St John's Book of Revelation from the Bible. So it is from the pen of Luc Besson ('The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc', 'The Transporter', 'La Femme Nikita') adapting a screenplay from the novel 'Les Rivières pourpres' by Jean-Christophe Grangé that we gain some visualization of the predictions of the Apocalyptic end of the world. And it is as scary as you remember from reading the Bible as a child! Commissioner Niemans (Jean Reno) partners with Reda (Benoît Magimel - the hunky fine actor from 'The Piano Teacher' and 'The Flower of Evil') to investigate a series of crucifixions linked to a near secret abbey. Because of the ecclesiastic nature of the murders a church scholar Marie (Camille Natta) is called in to advise and it is with her skills as an expert on Revelation that she teaches Niemans and Reda the meanings of the breaking of the various Seals, the four horsemen, the events leading up to the prophesied end of the world, and provides the intellectual backup to the thriller chase sequences attempting to apprehend the monks posing as Angels of the Apocalypse provided by Niemans and Reda. Add to this mix the fact that the Abbey is connected to the Maginot Line from WW II and that a German entrepreneur Heinrich von Garten (Christopher Lee) has for some odd reason purchased the Abbey for this own secret agenda and all of the ingredients for a edge of the seat suspense movie are in place.

Reno and Magimel make a terrific screen team with just the right amount of humanism and humor to allow some tension relief for he story. The special effects are excellent as is the cinematography and musical score. Yes, there is considerable blood and guts as each of the 'surrogate apostles' is murdered, but the camera doesn't linger longer than necessary to make the point.

The problem with the film is that it runs out of steam in the end and gives the feeling that someone called "Cut" making story end far too abruptly. But other than that this is a fairly interesting enactment of the Biblical prophecy of the Apocalypse, updated (?) for the audiences of today! Grady Harp, May 05