Tony's Revenge (2011– ) User Reviews

Tony's Revenge

[Tweekums · 8/10 · 5 October 2016]

This eight part French drama opens with young criminal Kenz escaping from prison with his older cellmate Tony Roucas, AKA Crazy Tony. It is the latter man that the police are more concerned about; he is an old school gangster who worked his way to the top of the organised crime ladder killing a lot of people along the way. He also made a lot of enemies; some of whom he blames for his twenty five year incarceration. Over the course of the series we see him making contact with his old 'friends' and learning some surprising things about who he can and can't trust as well as a revelation concerning the child he thought had died twenty five years before.

We also see flashbacks of his life. These start when he was a young boy in the Paris slums where his mother worked as a prostitute and he met criminals every day. As he grows up he becomes part of the local crime gang but quickly outgrows it and starts working for a Marseilles based family. He soon kills his old boss and others who cross him eventually those who he worked for decide it is time to get rid of him.

This series, shown as 'Tony's Revenge' here in the UK, was gripping from start to finish. Tony's story is revealed in a way that means current events are nicely linked to what we see in the flashback scenes. Given the world that Tony operates in it isn't surprising that there is often a sense of threat… the viewer may be fairly certain that he will at least survive to the final episode there is no guarantee that other characters will. There are a few shockingly violent moments as well as plenty of darkly comic moments; these are usually provided by Kenz and his low-life friends who think they are gangsters but don't impress Tony. There are some surprising revelations as the story nears its emotional conclusion; I won't spoil them here though. Simon Abkarian does a really fine job as Tony; he makes the character likable and sympathetic even though we he is clearly a dangerous man. Soufiane Guerrab also impresses as Kenz; he manages to be funny without descending into the role of comedy sidekick. The rest of the cast are pretty solid too. Overall I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoys crime drama.

These comments are based on watching the series in French with English subtitles.

What a surprise hit. Don't gloss over it over the 8/10. It's really good.

[y-05469 · 8/10 · 23 February 2017]

My no review spoiler is to get you to watch this show. It's really, really good. I give it an 8, which is a high rating, since I rate Breaking Bad at a perfect 10. But don't let this 8 discourage you. This is a really well made show.

There are some flaws here and there, minor things. I wish there were more episodes, some things are a tiny bit contrived, it would've been nice to use a camera stabilizer at times, etc. but this does not detract from how fun this show is to watch.

It's really really entertaining. It's thrilling and mysterious, it's funny and sad, it makes you laugh and it makes you shed a tear, the whole roller-coaster and you know what? It does all this in 8 episodes.

It does more in 8 episodes than many shows can't do over years and seasons.

Don't think this is just regular 90's-style TV. This may not be Breaking Bad quality, but it's post-Golden Era TV, that is, this is not the product of rejects from cinema, but has some of the best acting and production I've seen from France in quite some time.

It's really that good.

Witty and contrast-based story of thugs of different ages and apprehensions

[BeneCumb · 8/10 · 5 February 2018]

Abortive heist, long-term imprisonment, successful escape, consequetive revenge crusade - topics used in several films and series. So, for the sake of novelty and attraction, one should introduce a different angle or approach; it is to my liking that this series (with UK title Tony´s Revenge - not too felicitous) has them. Although the course of events is not always smooth, the most interesting is the depiction of inter-generational differences, how the people in their 20ies and 50ies think and operate, even within crime, and how it is often difficult to arrange things and make plans. So the series has several black humour moments, even under serious and tragic events. Also, the inclusion of flashbacks is well arranged and reasoned, providing different undertones and nuances, creating variable moods and era-specific wholeness. As to the cast, I liked most of performers (although unknown to me), but it made me wonder why some characters had different actors depicting them in different ages, but others not, creating more confusion and reducing plausibilty (e.g. Claire, Janvier), as people´s looks tend to change more within 30 years. Anyhow, a good series to be followed, in line with Braquo or Engrenages, for example.

Top-rate crime drama - ce beaux

[reynoldsm · 10/10 · 30 October 2013]

While European viewers may be used to this type and style of TV crime drama, there's nothing like it in the US (let's now hope that a US network doesn't decide to re-make it - they will surely fail, as they so often do). French TV has a knack of producing some superior procedurals and crime dramas and this is one of the best, fully deserving of a wider viewing audience. These eight episodes were engaging from the get-go and didn't let up from beginning to end. Gritty, with twists and turns and riveting throughout, helped by some great performances all round. The earlier reviewer outlined the story, suffice to say this could have been a run-of-the-mill escaped prisoners tale but the writing, performances and direction elevates it well above that. It's available with English sub-titles and don't be put off by them either.

A new kind of french gangsters stories ?

[searchanddestroy-1 · 2 December 2011]

This mini TV series was released six or seven months before Olivier Marchall's one: LES LYONNAIS. So it's not a copycat. Period. The two describe gangsters sagas, in a kind of way Francis Coppola did thirty years ago with his GODFATHER saga. The two first films.

Back to the french movies or TV series, for each of them, we watch stories told in modern times for the half, and thirty years ago for the other half. Flashbacks where the lives of the leads - gangsters, of course - are shown in a realistic way, fictitious or not. Old timers with their forgotten rules, their slang for one side, and new gangstas from their suburbs, for the other one. For both of these stories, there is lots of violence, some romance and enough emotion to entertain the audiences. The main difference between the two films would be the emphasis on the generation conflict. In the TV series - LES BEAUX MECS - the lead has to deal with young hoodlums to get back in business, because he has no more friends in life, and out of jail...And the screenplay insists plenty on that. The "old" gangster's point of view vs the young one's. In LES LYONNAIS, the film doesn't not insist so much on such things.

But the two stories have plenty in common. Especially the main characters: LANVIN and ABKARIAN.

I would prefer Olivier Marchall's feature. But the TV series is very interesting.

A six for the effort

[laduqesa · 6/10 · 11 January 2022]

I enjoyed this but wouldn't rate it as highly as some of the other reviewers here. Some of the scenes were a bit contrived and events were glossed over - how do you adopt a child "just like that"?

I liked the format of flashbacks and the make up department did well to age or rejuvenate some of the major characters when they moved away from events forty and thirty years previously. However, I found it odd that a couple of the actors played their old selves as well as their characters in the distant past.

Kenz was a character. The actor playing him had the council estate lingo off pat as well as the accents. The scenes with the "gangstas" in the Cités" were acutely observed. Also true to life was the way they acted like they were invincible and did so for "respect" which led to the failure of their missions on occasion. It's a complete contrast to the way the old-style gangsters operate. We grew to like Tony le Dingue aka Crazy Tony and could sympathise with his situation despite his amorality in terms of criminality.

I watched in a two-day period. I wasn't completely hooked but had no difficulty in coming back to each new episode. To me, it was a solid series rather than a brilliant one.