The Crimson Rivers
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Movie Reviews of The Crimson Rivers
Movie Review: A solid thriller up to the far-fetched ending
Summary: 3 Stars
A Parisian police officer (Jean Reno) is called to a small university in the mountains to solve the grisly murder of the university's librarian. Meanwhile, a second police officer (Vincent Cassel), investigating a theft at a school and the desecration of a graveyard finds his investigations also lead him to this same university.
Having just finished watching "The Crimson Rivers" and "Empire of the Wolves", both of which are based on novels by French author Jean-Christophe Grange, both my father and I are in agreement that "Empire of the Wolves" is the better film. There are many similarities between the two films: both are police procedurals with a twist (and a pretty far-fetched one, in each case); both star Jean Reno (in very similar parts); and both feature two seemingly unrelated storylines that you just know are bound to intersect around the mid-point of the film. However, "Empire of the Wolves" pulls it off better and makes the plot seem less far-fetched than it actually is.
Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't watch "The Crimson Rivers". In spite of its short comings, including the fact that it doesn't quite manage to pull off the final denouement, it is still a solid thriller that I enjoyed watching, even the second time around. Having also read the book upon which it is based, I can also say that it is a reasonably faithful adaptation that shouldn't disappoint fans of the book too much, but those who haven't read the book shouldn't find it difficult to follow either.
A sequel to this film, "Crimson Rivers: Angels of the Apocalypse", also exists, with a script by Luc Besson, but this is an "original" screenplay that bears little resemblance to "The Crimson Rivers" (beyond the fact that Reno plays the same characters in both). It is not based on a book by Jean-Christophe Grange.
Movie Review: Cool film, but a bit muddled too
Summary: 3 Stars
Jean Reno is really quite a fabulous actor. I have seen him in several other films and really liked him. Seeing him in this French-film where he would be speaking his native language (if it were not for the sometimes poor dubbing) is really a plus. Vincent Cassell is really quite good as well. This is a man who could be a pretty boy but for his slightly crooked nose. It makes him far more interesting than if he were pretty. He is quite good as well.In fact, the cast is quite excellent. My complaint is not with the cast as much as it is with the rushed feeling ending and the often poor dubbing.
The dubbing can be chalked up to idiots at the hands of the machines and the voice over director not getting clear enunciation where needed.
The rushed ending is not so easy to dismiss. For a film that was all along far more enigmatic and aspired to much greater direction than most films of any nationality of this genre, the ending is solidly "Americanized." (read that to be "forced and easy"). I had the basic premise of the ending, including the killer identified within minutes of being introduced to the character - and that was disappointing. I don't know that the killer should have been so easily discovered by the viewer of this film - it promised to be better than that. Further, too little time was spent on the evolution of the discovery with the audience of what has happened in explained terms. We do know what happened, but the "why" is so rushed that I was rewinding the film several times to see if I correctly understood it. And last, the end result was just a bit too contrived for my taste - it seemed an easy way out. I don't want to give away anything, because it IS at its heart, a good film. It just wasn't as superior as I had hoped it would be.
Movie Review: Stylistic Thriller Fizzles at the End
Summary: 3 Stars
How to rate The Crimson Rivers? Much of the film is terrific--terrific acting by Reno, and fair to good acting by the others; great atmospheric tableaux and sets; wonderful cinematography; and a creepy and unusual plot that takes full advantage of its locale--this movie couldn't happen as convincingly anywhere else. Those aspects of the film deserve four stars. But there's another aspect, the one that prizes style over substance, where a Hong Kong-style kick-boxing/kung fu fight with computer game music and commentary superimposed is gratuitously grafted into the movie, merely at the director's whim, and where the final plot payoff is as tired a cliche as they come. I'm not going to give it away, but suffice it to say that when you get to the final scene you will surely be as disappointed as the other reviewers here. Furthermore, there's some rather sad comic relief intended which fails miserably to do anything except destroy the plot's momentum. For that, the film deserves no more than three stars, and maybe two. So close, and yet...Movie Review: Serial Killer Stalks Elite University
Summary: 3 Stars
Pierre Niemans (Jean Reno) is sent to the small village Guernon in the French Alps to investigate a murder where the killer has cut off the hands, cropped out the eyes, and strung up a body in fetal position 150 feet up on a cliff. Meanwhile, Max Kerkerian (Vincent Cassel) is checking up on a grave desecration where someone has opened a grave and painted a swastika on it. The two detectives converge with their separate cases and something untold is about to be revealed. Initially, Crimson Rivers reveals a very dark plot that crawls under the skin; however, the storyline loses ground as it is being revealed to the audience. At the end the audience is left with a story of flat feeling.Movie Review: Rough Waters For 'The Crimson Rivers'
Summary: 3 Stars
Beautiful snow-capped mountain locations can't save "The Crimson Rivers". It's rough waters all the way for this one; the film is too long and almost uncomprehensible due to Jean Reno's heavy accent. The film would have been better and made more sense if it had been released in French and subtitled. You really have to listen very closely and carefully, plus keep your finger on your remote's STOP/REWIND or BACK button, to get a handle on what's going on. Some of the grisly images are truly that but--without giving away the end--how one in particular could have been accomplised considering who did it, puts too much of a stretch on the imagination.