You see many a film where you say " Wow, that's a bit coincidental". Then you see this and it goes to a whole new level, and you think the director and writer just think you are stupid and will buy anything. I'm referring to the utterly ridiculous set up of a French village high school newspaper that miraculously makes it's way to a mob boss in a New York penitentiary. Not completely unbelievable, except for the fact that the son of Robert DeNiro who is wanted dead by the mob boss, goes to this school, and just so happens to write an anecdote he remembers when he was a little boy that was said by yep guess who? the mob boss reading it. Added to that the boss reads the one tiny section of the newspaper with the anecdote. And that ruined the film for me.....til the last 20 minutes or so.The story has much promise but I felt it could have been so much better. The premise is good but sometimes the styles of the film jar. You have thrillers with comic elements and comedies with thriller elements but with this the styles jar. One second you are watching a comedy and the next it's a violent edge of your seat thriller. It maybe extreme as an example but imagine you were watching the French connection and then you had some anchorman humour in. And here lies a big problem with the film. You are supposed to be on the families side and they do crazy things in a comical style but then next minute the film serious so the things they do then seem violent. Take the daughter Belle for example. In the context of a comedy she's a no nonsense chick who beats the crap out of anyone who upsets her. But then she's a stalker who becomes suicidal and wants to die after a very fleeting romance with an unrequited love. If we are in comedy territory we can get away with it, but when the film gets serious all these things make her seem unhinged. Are we watching a comic character or a serious one? this is an example where the styles don't meld.DeNiro is ok, but you never really believe he was once a threatening mafioso even though he's played many in the past. Maybe age has softened him, but it seems he just walks through this. It's not terrible or bad, just not the conscientious work and characterisation from his younger years...but then scripts and movies don't offer that as much for an actor. Overall, I found it watchable, the film goes into mainly thriller territory last 20 minutes and is pretty good, but even then comic elements are added which just jar.

Why is it that every time I stumble on a violence-filled mediocrity and check on IMDb the director is Luc Besson. Everything he does is glossy, violent, profane and empty. How does he get A-listers - even these over-the-hill A-listers - to star in his movies. It's not like this mess is redeemed by comedy. It's about as witty as being buried in an Iowa cornfield. It's almost hard to believe how highly regarded Robert DeNiro once was. At this point he's been a hack longer than he was ever good.

I vaguely remember when this movie was in the cinemas. I didn't go see it and I didn't even see a trailer, but I remember seeing the poster on the wall at the theater. Once it was up on Netflix, I wanted to see it.I was expecting some kind of weird mixture between crime drama and a "unusual family" comedy like the Addams Family and We're The Millers. Not the best examples but they are the first ones I can think of. The Family wasn't exactly close to my expectation. The Family is way more refreshing the way it is. Still, it's hard to say what is the main type of this film. It's partially a comedy, it's hilarious and clever and all that. But then again it seems like a deep drama, because it's about a family who is trying to adjust to the new situation, and everyone is facing their own challenges. But of course it's also a crime thriller.While it's hard to say which one of these mostly defines the movie, the thing is, the elements of all those types are used so wonderfully, that as the story goes on, it doesn't matter. The story and the characters are intriguing and it's exciting to see what is going to happen. That shows what an excellent writer Tonino Benacquista is. While I don't know the differences between his book and the screenplay by Besson and Caleo, but I'm guessing his Benacquista's writing involved a lot of the stuff I loved about this movie.The Family is intriguing, thrilling and fun. It has excellent casting and excellent writing. While this movie doesn't really stand out, it's not astounding in anyway, it's still a good film and definitely worth seeing.

I think the only reason why this film has the rating it does is because it has well known actors in it.This film has an interesting start and makes you want to know what's happening. But, the plot does not deliver. You're not exactly bored when watching the film... But that's because you think it's going to go somewhere. Don't get me wrong, it could be worse. But, it is a stupid film to say at the least.It's not that interesting or entertaining... This isn't a film you'd remember, it's more a film that would come on television and one day and you'd remember that you saw it one day (if that)... There was no suspense to it. It wasn't particularly funny.The plot was stupid. It wasn't going anywhere. You get attracted to this film because of the famous actors, so you think it'll be good.I definitely would not recommend this film. There are plot holes, but in the end it's like I don't even care about the plot holes because I wasn't fully engaged in the film anyway. Halfway through the film I just knew the film was going no where but I hoped I was wrong. I wasn't.