LOST BULLET : Thursday 25th June 2020.

In these very trying and testing times for us all that has seen many cinema's, Odeon's, and movie theatres around the world close their doors for the foreseeable future because of the escalating threat of the COVID-19 Coronavirus taking an ever increasing hold on the world at large, many film and television productions halted in their tracks indefinitely, and new film releases pushed back to some future date when some sense of movie going normalcy is expected to resume, I have, needless to say, had to adapt to this new world order. And so with my usual Reviews of the latest cinematic releases being curtailed, instead I will post my Review of the latest release movies showing on Netflix until such time as the regular outing to my local multiplex or independent theatre can be reinstated.

In the last few weeks then, a number of new feature films have landed at Netflix - of which I review as below 'Lost Bullet' which went live on the streaming service on 19th June and which I saw from the comfort of my own sofa on Thursday 25th June.

'LOST BULLET' is an original French Netflix production Directed and Co-Written by Guillaume Pierret in his feature film making debut following a number of outings Directing French TV shows and his breakout nine minute short film 'Matriarche' in 2012. This film is spoken in French with English subtitles, runs for a brisk 93 minutes and has garnered generally favourable Reviews so far.

Opening up with Lino (Alban Lenoir) clearly a whizz at all things auto mechanical, as he is seen welding steel bars into the engine bay of a Renault Clio and then firing up the supercharged engine which sits mounted where the rear passengers would normally be seated. He drives the car round the block late at night stopping briefly to pick up his good friend Quentin (Rod Paradot) before passing a jewellery store that he has every intention of ram raiding. The pair buckle up their reinforced seat belts, put on crash helmets, and line up the vehicle. As Lino accelerates towards the shop front, he flicks a switch which gives him an extra 300 horsepower and the Clio charges full tilt through the jewellery shop window, and out through the concrete wall at the back, and then through another concrete wall, then another, and then another before coming to rest outside in the street, with Clio sized holes visible though all four buildings in the block. As Police sirens ring out, Lino's seat belt is jammed and he is unable to get free to make a run for it, but orders Quentin to leg it, which he does. Needless to say, Lino is arrested and thrown in prison.

Next up we cut to a chase down a highway involving a souped up reinforced Police pursuit vehicle and an equally souped up BMW driven by some drug runners. Weaving in and out of trucks and other vehicles, the Police pursuit vehicle is in radio contact with another similar Police car coming in the opposite direction. The second Police car rams headlong into the oncoming BMW totally wiping out both vehicles. The occupants of the BMW are dead at the scene, but the two cops get out unscathed thanks to their heavily reinforced pursuit vehicle. Job done, stash of drugs recovered and no-one is too perturbed about the pair of very dead low life crims.

We then fast track a few months, and Lino is visited in prison by the chief of a special drug unit Charas (Ramzy Bedia) who recognising his potential offers him a deal to work as a Police mechanic in his specialised 'go fast' unit, on a prison day release scheme. After about nine months on the job, in which time Lino has integrated himself well into the four man unit by pimping up the Police pursuit cars so they can outrun the 'go fast' criminals vehicles along the French motorways, Charas offers him an early release deal.

However, Lino's plans for an early release go somewhat awry when Charas is shot and killed by a member of his own unit, Areski (Nicolas Duvauchelle), witnessed by his colleague Marco (Sebastien Lalanne) who are both running their own nefarious criminal business on the side with underworld characters Jacques (Patrick Medioni) and Kad (Arthur Aspturian), using Quentin to help them pimp their own vehicles. Areski shoots Charas through the back window of his car, with the bullet piercing the drivers seat, Charas back, exiting though his chest and coming to rest embedded in the instrument panel of the dash board. Meanwhile, Lino has made  a run for it. Areski orders Jacques and Kad to torch the car, and with it Charas' body.

Needless to say Lino is framed for the murder of Charas. Arriving at a petrol station with gun in hand to call Julia (Stefi Celma) - the fourth member of the unit, he is promptly arrested and taken in for questioning. Areski enters the interview room where Lino is handcuffed to the table, and offers him a story with which to get him off the hook in exchange for his silence. Lino declines the offer, and after some handiwork involving an aluminium chair he is able to prize himself free. What follows is an intense hand to hand close quarter combat sequence that sees Lino fend off a dozen or so hefty Police Officers as he seeks to escape from custody and to prove his innocence. He dispenses with the dozen or so cops using chairs, tables, laptop computers, punches, kicks and a can of capsicum spray before exiting the cop shop badly battered and bruised, but having come out on top nonetheless, despite the overwhelming odds.

He catches up with Julia at the garage where the Go Fast unit is also based and tries to explain his innocence in the whole sorry affair. Julia has taken Charas' death particularly hard as they rode together and she was seen as his natural successor. It also seems that Lino and Julia had a thing for each other in the recent past. While they are talking the burnt out remains of Charas' vehicle is brought into the garage on a tow truck. Lino and Julia get into a fight, which ultimately sees Julia handcuffed to the bumper of a car as Lino limps away gasping for air. Before leaving however, he looks under the burnt out remains of the vehicle and says 'that's not Charas' car!'

So Lino goes back to the scrapyard of Jacques and Kad in search of Charas's car, but is sprung by the pair and held at gunpoint. With some quick thinking by Quentin, he and Lino are able to disable the pair and lock them inside the boot of a car, only to be uncovered later by Areski and Marco, who out of frustration for their failings in apprehending Lino, kill the pair and pin their murder on Lino and Quentin.

Meanwhile, Lino recontacts Julia hoping to get a more welcoming reception this time around, and a little understanding. This time she listens but still remains unconvinced that Areski and Marco are at the centre of the misdeeds. However, she goes along with his story for the time being. He tells her to meet him at the place they first met, and in driving there Quentin tells Lino that he knows where Charas' car is hidden away. They rendezvous and Quentin explains to Julia all the events that went down that had led them to this point. Julia is now more convinced, and in leaving they realise they had been followed by a couple of suspicious looking characters. Managing to evade them, Julia returns to her garage HQ and Lino and Quentin make for an abandoned farmstead out in the country where Charas' car is stashed. This is Lino's only hope of proving his innocence, by reclaiming the bullet in the instrument panel of the dashboard - the lost bullet - and ensuring it is handed over to the real authorities before Areski and Marco get to him first.

At the abandoned farmhouse, Quentin and Lino sneak around, not realising that Marco has stealthily rocked up having also been given the location of Charas' vehicle by Kad whom he beat to death with the butt end of his rifle earlier. In an unguarded moment Marco shoots Quentin in the chest. Hearing the shot ring out, Lino takes cover in the kitchen but is drawn out by Marco. A fist fight ensues, in which Lino eventually overpowers Marco and handcuffs him securely to a fixture inside the farm house, but not before firing off a around into his bullet proof vest which has incapacitated him. Quentin meanwhile has struggled to drag himself over to the wheel of a tractor, propped himself up against it, and died with a winch in his hand. Seeing this, Lino realises that the winch leads to a mound of mulch under which is concealed Charas' vehicle. With the keys still in the ignition, he fires up the engine - it starts first time. He drives the car into the barn, where lo and behold, there is a full welding kit with which Lino is able to reinforce the front end with a rather nifty pair of very large and very menacing looking hooks. He also tinkers about with the engine to extract just a little more grunt out of it's turbo engine.

The next morning Areski has set up a road block on the look out for Charas' old car, with a couple of Police pursuit vehicles on patrol in the vicinity. The Police car spots Lino and gives chase. As the Police vehicle overtakes Lino's, he manoeuvres his vehicle into position, accelerates and hooks on to the back end of the Police car. With the rear axle disabled, Lino is pushing the Police car along at full speed headed directly for the road block, which he ploughs through easily, with the full protection of the Police car in front. He rams through several other vehicles sending them flying.

Areski now has no concern other to dispense with Lino and Charas' car as quickly as possible. Giving chase, the pair of cars weave down narrow French streets, other vehicles in the way get trashed, and eventually Julia joins the chase in another vehicle having realised that Lino must be telling the truth about Charas' car. Areski tries to ram Lino off the road, while Julia broadsides Lino on the other side effectively sandwiching him in the middle. With nowhere to go, Areski's car is sent tumbling end over end and lands on its side, a crumpled mess. Julia's car hits a lamppost, and Lino's comes to rest a short distance away.

Areski crawls out of the car as Lino sets upon him beating him senseless and bloody as Areski releases a grenade into Charas' car. It explodes and the back end is engulfed in flames. Lino jumps in and drives at a furious pace towards the garage as flames begin to engulf more of the vehicle. He tears into the garage and drives the car headlong into the back wall as he is thrown through the windscreen when the vehicle comes to an abrupt halt. At the garage another mechanic and Moss (Pascale Arbillot) the superior officer handling the unit since Charas' demise douse the flames with fire extinguishers.

Later we see forensics extracting the bullet from the dashboard of Charas' car and examining it, and its trajectory. We then see Moss hading over a document to Julia to give to Lino absolving him of any guilt, he is now a free man. Julia walks Lino out of the garage with her arm around him. They turn around to take a last glance at Charas' burned out car, adorned with wreaths and floral tributes. Areski meanwhile sneaks into his house where his wife is playing with their young child in the garden. He goes to the bedroom, removes a secret panel from his closet and unloads a weapon and a stash of bank notes which he bundles into a holdall. He then leaves the house without saying goodbye, and presumably drives off into the sunset.

Don't be mislead by the title of this film into thinking this is just another by the numbers derivative cops and robbers offering, because there is more to this French action thriller than the title and the pitch would have you believe. Here former stuntman Alban Lenoir puts in a convincing turn as a cross between a Gallic Jason Statham and Vin Diesel replete with #1 haircut and five days of stubble and able to drive his way out of any car chase and punch, kick, maim and disable his way out of any fist fight with all manner of adversaries. The film proves that you can do a lot with relatively little, as the practical stunts, fight sequences, and the modest production values far outweigh the allegedly low cost of production. Whilst Lenoir is front and centre in this film as the antagonist turned protagonist, the remainder of the principle cast all put in worthwhile turns too dropping plenty of 'f' bombs and often drenched in blood, sweat and tears. Sure the plot is cliched enough, and stretches the imagination, but the action which is frenetic and frequent will keep you entertained, and for Lino it seems, the door is left wide open for a sequel or two, which the Producers have already hinted at. Well worth a look for lovers of fast and furious car-nage, fist fights, and one man on a mission to clear his name come hell or high water genre offerings.

'Lost Bullet' merits three claps of the Odeon Online clapperboard from a potential five claps.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-