Empire of the Wolves (2005)

the audience applauded

People are voting emotionally.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

In my experience fellow user-reviews like on IMDb can be, but don't have to be of course, very helpful. Either in deciding whether to watch a movie, or for the purpose of getting a better understanding of it afterwards. So I am always grateful when a reviewer took his time, and actually helped me along in a good way. That said, 'L'empire des loups'by director Chris Nahon is a case in point. The cinematography is ambitious, and it's not just l'art pour l'art, it works in enhancing our viewing experience, at the same time keeping up with the several plot twists this movie abounds, or drowns, in. The musical scores aren't some ready-made products but try to punctuate the action,sometimes successfully, sometimes less so; but always staying high enough above average to strengthen their scenes. The lead actors are engaged, and deliver mostly believable performances of the characters they are given. Especially Arly Jover as „Anna", anyway Jean Reno as the shady and brutal ex-cop Schiffer, but also Jocelyn Quivrin as the not too stereotypical younger homicide cop Nerteaux. The occurring shortcomings seemed to me to be not their fault but clearly the director's. Watch 'L'empire des loups' in the French original by the way, with your preferred subtitles as I did (German), to make the most of the cast's efforts. But these caveats concerning the actors' performances – 'the characters they are given' and so on – lead me to the main problem of this on a superficial level entertaining, partly also quite captivating movie. On the one hand it contains rather a few plot twists. Some generally foreseeable, others considerably unbelievable. And although I'm unable to come up with any better alternatives for the script writers to get out of the - in the structure of this plot inevitable, I guess – dead ends, they still should have made a better effort. On the other hand, and that brings me back to my introduction, beyond just plot twists and the like this movie simply degrades the further it progresses. This process works just as fellow IMDb reviewer „kosmasp" has already shown in a rather moody review in 2007. He writes „… you will notice the point where the movie breaks ... where it won't only get ridiculous, but the movie also falls to pieces." And he's right. I noticed this - in a way, to be honest - while watching it, and could see it clearly in retrospect after reading his review. In fact, this movie is a textbook example of the Hegelian notion that merely quantitative changes beyond a certain point pass into qualitative differences – Marx's words, not mine. Anyhow, thank you, kosmasp, though I don't follow in your harsher rating of only four stars, because I still think that 'L'empire des loups' displays many positive facets that I enjoyed on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Four stars I assign to the many, sometimes seemingly unavoidable, movies much worse than this one. It deserves a five, I gave the lead actors a six. But maybe that's being a bit too friendly?

This is basically on the same lines as the two CRIMON RIVERS thrillers, also starring Jean Reno; the muddled narrative involves two separate plot lines (a young cop on the trail of a serial killer and the tribulations of a woman apparently suffering from memory loss) which gradually intermingle. The title necessitates a few misleading 'horror' images relating to the girl's disorientation (especially since it all boils down to revolve around a drug-trafficking organization, with Paris and Istanbul for backdrops!); Reno is an iconoclastic ex-cop to whom the rookie turns for advice, but who is driven to distraction by his violent ways! Though action-packed, the film is more intriguing for its thematic pretensions: the heroine discovers that she has had her features altered, eventually reverting from bourgeois housewife to her true self – a Turkish immigrant with connections to the underworld, finding herself therefore suddenly resourceful enough to outwit or otherwise deal with her pursuers! Her 'husband' is revealed to be among them, but also Reno (actually a double agent), as well as a man she seemed to be familiar with but could not quite place; the latter, in fact, turns out to be the serial killer eluding the Police, driven towards recreating the anguished expression of a statue through his crimes (and with the woman herself being next in line)! A mildly interesting and enjoyable film, then, especially during its first half (if not especially memorable or rewarding) but, apart from feeling decidedly overlong at 128 minutes, its latter stages unfortunately turn into just another action movie.

First let's get a couple of things straight. This movie is dark, unsweetened European chocolate for the mind, pure and simple. It makes about as much sense as a Jerry Bruckheimer film. Or maybe the average John Woo movie. Which is to say, it only makes sense as entertainment--the purest form of escapist entertainment. Now that we have that out in the open ....This lengthy film is handsomely mounted and well-executed. High production values in evidence throughout. It is well-written and well-acted. It is visually attractive and atmospheric. It is absorbing and there is not a dull moment in it.The plot is a mix of serial killer movie, extreme political thriller, crazed Nazi doctor movie, secret "anti-terrorist" police movie, medical science fiction and old cop/young cop partner movie. But they mix all this stuff up together quite enjoyably. Like Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony Scott and John Woo films, it really shouldn't work, but it really does.Reno is great as a dangerous, rather brutal and grizzled rogue cop gotten out of "retirement" by an obsessed young cop to solve a series of grisly murders. The actor playing the young cop acquits himself well. The cast of villains and victims is convincing and compelling. The dialogue is good quality and there are twists and turns aplenty. Keeps you guessing until the last scene.We are taken on a wild and dark and violent ride through the grim underworld of human traffickers in the Turkish slums of Paris (at least I think it was Paris).Anyway, whoever made this movie really set out to entertain an audience. I think they succeeded admirably.Turn on the movie, turn off your mind and enjoy yourself.

L'EMPIRE DES LOUPS is another intelligent, intense and very explosive thriller from the author Jean-Christophe Grangé who wrote also the first CRIMSON RIVERS. It kept me all the time guessing what came next and there were many puzzles to solve. Director Nahon made a great job and all the actors delivered a very solid performance. I hope there will be soon another one. I don't know why this movie is underrated on IMDb with actual 5.4 but I give with my wife a solid 7.5/10. If I compare the quality of this film with similar Hollywood thrillers then it's no doubt one of the best and a must see for all fans of this genre. I am a little disappointed why this excellent thriller didn't get enough attention at the theaters and even me discovered it accidentally in the film dates of Jean Reno.