THE TIGER BRIGADES is essentially Les Untouchables, as four cops (of the newly formed Mobile Brigades; essentially a French version of the FBI or Flying Squad) in 1912 take on a bunch of anarchist robbers who have stolen a coded ledger that contains all sorts of secrets that the rich and aristocratic don't want known. Added to this there's a Russian princess with anarchist sympathies, the upcoming signing of the Triple Entente pact and a financial conspiracy. Adapted from the popular 70s TV series, it's a well-made film that never quite lifts off, largely because the main characters aren't all that interesting; often it feels like large chunks of their back-stories were left on the cutting room floor. That said it cracks along at quite a pace, utilising the period's charm - including a slow chase between a crude car and a bicycle, and a farmhouse shootout which the aristocracy watch as if it was a bird shoot - before climaxing at the opera with a nod towards Eisenstein (think Ivan Grozny). It's the sort of film where the subject matter is more interesting than the drama itself; highly watchable without being overly memorable.

Transposing a TV series to and/or for the big screen is not unlike expanding a short story into a novel i.e. why bother; the obvious answer in the case of the former is money; couch potatoes who enjoyed the series may venture to the local Multiplex and the strictly cinema audience probably missed the TV series. What we have here is slick entertainment set in that long Edwardian summer that culminated in the First World War and the Russian Revolution, both of which are offscreen characters here. The period doesn't figure that often in mega-buck movies although the last Arsene Lupin movie and A Very Long Engagement infringed upon it. As entertainment it hits all its targets and non-French audiences are unlikely to be distracted by familiar names - Deneuve, Depardieu, Binoche, Huppert etc - though the French film buff will be reassured by the presence of the reliable Jacques Gamblin, Gerard Jugnot and somewhat more erratic Clovis Cornillac. Guillaume Canet's ex-wife Diane Kruger has a central role but luckily she's not prevailed upon to act anything more demanding than gorgeous and/or sympathetic which she does as well as any equally gorgeous non-actress (she does it again in her latest, Pour Elle, in the salles now and it's all pretty harmless. If you like to be entertained and think you're learning a little about social history at the same time this is probably for you.

Very nice historical thriller/adventure, based on the hit TV series of the same name. In 1912, an elite unit of the Sureté becomes involved in a complex case including anarchist attacks, an international financial scandal involving France and Russia, political corruption and a mysterious, beautiful woman married to a Russian prince but with an agenda of her own. The production is handsomely mounted, action scenes are fairly sparse (like in The Untouchables) but very well done, real set-pieces. There's a huge shootout, hand-to-hand combat, fencing... the lot. Acting is very good across the line, but I would like to single out Diane Kruger for her performance as Constance. Multi-layered, very well written, the character is at the heart of the plot and shows a richness and subtlety rare in genre fiction. Hindsight provides an extra layer of appreciation: the events in the film occur before WW I and the Russian Revolution, but will influence both these cataclysmic upheavals. As we know more than the characters do about how things will turn out, the narrative gains extra poignancy. Definitely one of the best French mainstream entertainment films of recent years. A success on every level. Roll on Brigades 2...

I don't like the first review that was made on it...Just to explain one of my "complaints" : first, it is not a "special forces type film" at all...and i won't even comment on the rest...*roll eyes* This film is a success in many aspects IMHO despite all the fears i had when i discovered who would be directing it... It's adapted from a very well-known French TV series of the same name which was a huge success in the 70s in France. The script is well-written IMHO. You feel they've done their homework. The magazine Historia even dedicated a whole edition to this movie in a way and the whole historical period it depicted... Interviews of its makers revealed that they've done their best to keep the spirit of the series while still taking risks etc...like choosing a Belgian to play an Occitan French with a strong southern accent typical of Occitans(that's a bit polemical here by the way...), trying to mix huge parts of history and historical figures in the story (Minister Jean Jaurès and his journal L'Humanité, Paris Préfet etc...), The Triple Entente, the "prémices" of WWI, the 'Russian Loans', "La Bande à Bonnot", the "prémices" of the Russian Revolution and of socialism, emergence of new types of criminality and new ways of fighting crime in response, rivalry between the Brigades du Tigre and the Parisian Police in Paris and other Préfectures in the rest of France..., scientific discoveries which started helping the police at the time, the corruption and affairs of the time, touchy political subjects of the time and used for some of them to make parallels with current situations and to fire critics at some current problems in France etc... The European actors (German Diane Kruger, Italian Stefano Accorsi from the great movie Romanzo Criminale, Belgian star Olivier Gourmet that it's no need to present now after having shown his talent times and times again, he's choosing a new kind of role for him there...) are fantastic, same for the Frenchies: Clovis Cornillac (this guy is over talented and it still shows in "popular" films like that...), Léa Drucker (she's not only good in plays, cinéma should use her more after this and Virgil hopefully...), Édouard Baer, Agnès Soral (always in small roles but always perfect), Flamand on top...; the characters are well-depicted, the feeling of the time too, musically, esthetically that's OK too (i couldn't forget of the main theme song after seeing the movie, Olivier Florio modernized it well...). Go see it!It's got so many levels to it and it succeeds at each of them : drama, critics made, historical depiction and analysis in a way, action, aesthetic aspect of the film (its overall look etc...i don't know if the word aesthetic is even existing ...erm...), and so on...For once, a film based on a successful TV series isn't a flop...I can't wait to see the sequel. Yep. A sequel is already in the making. These characters (both fictive or real) and the time period they evolve in can give a lot more since they're so rich so i think that's justified...=)I hope you'll find my review helpful guys...PS : I appologize in advance for any butchering of English i would have made. It would not be not intentional. My English is actually that bad... Sorry.