Dead Weight

I didn't expect to but I liked the film very much. Granted, buddy films have been done one million times, but rather than try to put a new twist on an old theme, this one simply had fun with it. A cheerfully kooky film, with some really well-executed stunts (loved the "It's TURK, not KURD" shootout and the chase scene--nice to see a Peugeot stand in for an Aston Martin for a change), a wild set of plot twists, snappy dialogue, exotic locations. I genuinely enjoyed the Malian prison warden--very funny especially during the (brief) watch scene. I honestly laughed a lot. It's just a well-done, clever, fresh little buddy flick. Sit back and enjoy it.

I think this film is perfect if you just want to relax and enjoy some action spiced up with some humor. The car chase is unforgettable. The film is quite similar to the Guy Ritchie film (Lock, stock) with its many crazy characters but not so sophisticated, still quite good.

I really didn't know what to expect from this one. Actually I expected a movie like "la chèvre", "les compères" or "l'emmerdeur" : two guys unfortunately sticked one to the other for some reason... Allowing great and funny actors show. But there ?... The actors are good (but Poelvoerde is not at his best here for me), the stunts and special effects are not far from the best action films. The story is not bad. The directing is fair. But something doesn't work at all. I'm not sure of what. Too much violence ? some too-stupid-to-be-true behaviors ? Maybe. So I didn't enjoyed it completely and I won't give it more than a 5 on 10.

Launched in the Spring 2002 in France, "le boulet" was hugely successful (more than 3 million of spectators in the French theaters). Why? This success remains both mysterious and unexplainable because Alain Berbérian's movie's got every conceivable fault, every fault imaginable so that you can name it: the perfect load of rubbish. It consists on an uninspired and hackneyed script with threadbare topics. Dialogs that aren't very worked and a poor directing that emphasizes too much on special effects.

But above all, "le boulet" is a bad movie because it borrows mostly elements or sequences from a lot of French movies. Thus, you find traces of "la cité de la peur" (1994) made by the same director, always Berbérian. But you also think about "la soif de l'or" (1993) and "la grande vadrouille" (1966) both made by Gérard Oury. Even the duo of characters with opposed disposition (here, we deal with the frail Poelvoorde and the heartless Lanvin) and who are however compelled to work together isn't original. Indeed, this comic device had been already used (and brilliantly) by Francis Veber. You only have to watch "la chèvre" (1981) or "les fugitifs" (1986) to realize it.

With this poor movie that looks hollow, we deal with a very serious situation: it would appear that French comedy is declining...

I saw this film in Martinique when it opened, and I don't think it's derivative at all. I thought, if anything, it shows that Blockbuster action and comedy are not the property or sole domain of American filmmakers. The film is a a slapstick comedy and is more often than not successful in that regard. It kind of reminded me of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World in the mad pursuit for a lotto ticket with lots of improbable characters, bizarre situations, and hilarious scenes. In short, watch this film and enjoy -- nice,escapist fun, period. And why would you want to watch this film with bad English dubbing?? Just watch it in French with English subtitles, duh!