Mesrine: Killer Instinct, like its “hero” Jacques Mesrine, is loud, brash entertainment. The film is the first of two parts chronicling the numerous offenses and eventual downfall of the notorious French criminal. Much of the film plays out in singular events that unfold with the subtlety of a gunshot; it’s obvious that the filmmakers’ intent was to focus on the high points of Mesrine’s life instead of his personal motivations.
What we’re left with then is an exercise in swagger and attitude that, while hugely entertaining, lacks the necessary depth or emotion to make it truly great. But where the film misses the mark on character development it makes up for in Vincent Cassel’s electric performance. He’s the film’s buoy, and even though we may not get a good idea as to who Mesrine really is, Cassel makes it hard for us not to root for him.
The film begins with Mesrine’s military duty, mercilessly interrogating prisoners during the French occupation of Algeria. From there, he returns home and is quickly indoctrinated into the world of crime through his friend Paul (Gilles Lellouche). After a successful burglary, Mesrine ascends the ranks of the criminal world with the counseling of underlord Guido (an against type Gerard Depardieu) and the companionship of Jeanne (Cecile De France).
After an attempt on Mesrine’s life, he and Jeanne seek asylum in Quebec and begin to work for a local billionaire. There, he meets Jean-Paul Mercier (Roy Dupuis) and by circumstance (and a bout with kidnapping), lands his way in jail along with Mercier and Jeanne. Inside, Mesrine is subjected to physical and mental torture (a part of the bureaucratic treatment system) and eventually plots an escape so simple in execution that it’s unbelievable it worked in real life.
From there, the film assumes the tropes of an actioneer, with Mesrine and Mercier plotting an eventual break-in at the prison and their constant fleeing from the authorities. Before we know it, Killer Instinct is closing in on its final moments (after a brisk 113 minutes), and we’re still over two hours away from seeing the rest of the story.
It’s obvious that director Jean-Francois Richet’s interest is in Mesrine’s headline-breaking actions, and in this regard, Killer Instinct works best when Mesrine is either plotting or executing one of his criminal endeavors. From early on, he demands respect from every encounter he makes, and it’s this seemingly unwarranted brashness that leads to the film’s largest weakness: its indifference to Mesrine’s inner workings. What leads a man to jump immediately into the world of crime?
It’s suggested that Mesrine’s yearning for wealth and a jet-set lifestyle accounts for his actions, but his turn to crime is so dynamic and sudden that we’re just left to accept his choices and go along for the ride. Luckily, Cassel is such an engaging actor that he helps us yield to the plot’s shortcomings and champion its action beats with much enthusiasm.
The film as been compared to fellow crime sagas Scarface and Goodfellas, and were Mesrine alive today, those would probably be his top film picks. Intoxicated with the idea and practice of being a gangster, Mesrine: Killer Instinct doesn’t achieve the greatness of those two films, but finds its place in being incredibly tense and exceedingly magnetic entertainment. By the end of the film, I was ready to jump right in to Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One (Part 2) and that’s the best praise I can pay the film.
