User Reviews

I was annoyed when I learned that they were doing a remake of "Assault". When the movie came out, I knew I was right.

Then I saw this movie here on TV. Didn't really know what it was about, just saw that it starred Naceri of "Taxi" fame, so I decided to watch it.

From the moment everybody gathered in the warehouse, I instantly thought of "Assault".

Some others here seem not to have a clear remembrance of Carpenter's movie, but apart from a few new gadgets all the key plot points are completely the same. I won't give them away, as they would be major spoilers, but try to watch both movies together and you'll see.

But on the other side: This is a fine remake. You don't know who's gonna die, there are some interesting new plot points and the characters are believable (in "Assault", you learn nothing about the man they want, as he'snot talking any more. The Mafia guy is quite another quality...) I say, 8 of 10.

Well it's not a precinct and maybe assault is too much. But I'm talking about influence and it's obvious what the influences were. If not Carpenter than the western movies Carpenter was inspired by. But you don't have Cowboys and Indians here. You have different kind of guys, who try to get out (or is it in?).

A very well though of french thriller, that is very tense and has a lot of action to hold your attention. And while this has quite a few western influences (as I wrote above), I was expecting an American remake anytime soon, after the movie came out. It didn't happen though, so you have to watch this. Which is not a bad thing. Because the movie is quite good and you have quite a few french stars in it too.

The film is incredible , action starts and doesn't finish until ending title.

This is a first rate movie , plenty of action and very spectacular . It's likeness to an American action film. French movies are solely the European cinema to compete with American market regarding to spectacle cinema.

The flick centers about a bunch that tries to free a Serbian mobster -Angelo Infanti- . Nadia Fares commands the group assigned to protect him and they cross with a bunch of thieves led by Sami Nacery and Benoit Maginel . After a frenetic pursuit , the officers seek refuge , with their prisoner, in a warehouse located in the heart of an industrial park .

The showdown between three groups is breathtaking . The film is pretty violent and savage , everybody will fight until death to obtain their purposes.

In the movie there is action packed , thriller , rip-roaring , drama , gore , violence and it will appeal to whom are looking for strong emotions.

Direction by Florent Emilio Siri is excellent and Alexander Desplat music is riveting .

Rating : Above average , 7/10. Well worth watching .

Just finished watching Nid de Guepes, or the Nest, as it is translated. The beginning I found to be somewhat slow - there is very little dialogue until the sh@t starts to fly in the building. However, I found myself drawn to whether or not and more importantly who would make it out alive.

Overall, for an action movie, it was good - no hero machismo, no action stars . The one and only rescue attempt made (in the truck) is put to rest within a matter of seconds in a hail of bullets; something you don't see quite often in a typical Hollywood blockbuster.

There are no heroes, no guns for glory. It simply tells the story of a group of people, thrown into the same "merde", fighting to survive. Whatever remains of the bravado is quickly put to an end as you see how high the odds were stacked against them - the continuous legion of gunmen assaulting the factory in droves.

Not to mention Fares, switching from French, to Italian to English without missing a beat. Rrrroow.

A good flick

Dry, harsh, without concession. Nid de guêpes is a pure B-movie strongly inspired by Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13th, but directed with professionalism and a real personal style. After the unbalanced The brotherhood of the wolves and The crimson rivers, here comes the first real achievement in the new wave of French entertaining movies. Don't hesitate!

I love a good French actioner (The Transporter and the Taxi films being a case in point) so was looking forward to seeing this.

I was a bit disappointed that it took so long for the situation to be set up. You already know from reading the DVD sleeve what the plot is going to be - yet it takes 30 minutes for the characters to arrive at the warehouse.

The action direction had some good set pieces but was at times choppy and confusing - and the film ended rather abruptly.

Still a very stylish and cool film - and I went straight out and bought the director's next film, Hostage starring Bruce Willis.

For some people the words 'French' and 'Action Movie' will do nothing but produce guffaws. Pay no attention; they know nothing about the lengthy history of superb French Action Films. The French actually produce some good movies from time to time. They are not all pretentious 'Arthouse' flicks which involve lots of shagging and boring dialogue.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet gave us Delicatessen and 'The City of Lost Children' - he then made 'Alien:Resurrection' but we forgave him when he delivered 'Amelie'. Then there is Luc Besson who gave us 'Subway', 'Nikita' as a warm up then the fabulous 'Leon' ('The Professional' in the US) and the superb 'Fifth Element'. If you check the production companies involved on those last two you will find that they are entirely French, only US distributors were involved. Besson has sort-of disappeared from movie making for a while, concentrating on producing and writing cheapo European action films like 'The Transporter' and 'Taxi' 1&2 (not the lame US remakes).

The reason for this lengthy preamble is to point out that not all French films are dull, and illustrate the fact that actually the French have a lot to teach a jaded Hollywood in how to make action movies. Which brings me to 'The Nest'.

I watched John Carpenter's fantastic 'Assault on Precinct 13' when I was probably 15 and bored one evening. I didn't know anything about Carpenter, the film had no recognizable stars and I had no idea what was going to happen. Needless to say the film is excellent. It was the first time in my cinema going life that I felt not just wonder when watching a film, but also claustrophobia, oppression and genuine fear. 'The Nest' is a total remake of 'Assault'. It doesn't hang about (though its setup is maybe a little longer and a smidge wider-ranging than Assault's), introducing three groups of characters so quickly that you genuinely have no idea what they are up to.

Sami Naceri, the star of the hugely daft Taxi films, is best known as a comic actor, yet plays successfully against type here (why isn't he a star on the same level as Jean Reno by now?)Pascal Greggory has the looks and presence of a hit-man, but is actually a security guard, Nadia Fares looks like a catwalk model, but utterly convinces as the military enforcer. The lesser characters (which isn't really fair as this is a purely ensemble piece of work) all inhabit their characters completely, their complex relationships spark off believable dialogue that never once slips into cliché. It is this commitment to reality that underlines 'The Nest' and makes it so successful.

Almost the entire film takes place in a single warehouse, which is similar to 'Assault' except that Carpenter's film had a number of locations within the police house. The Nest has three areas - a Boiler room, a security desk that has a clear view over the entire warehouse, and the warehouse itself. Although this lessens the claustrophobia somewhat, it is hugely successful in putting all of our characters in peril at once. Another twist is that in 'Assault' the characters can retreat through to another room of the building. Early on in 'The Nest' it becomes clear that their only area of retreat has already been compromised by the enemy.

The warehouse almost becomes a character itself, as the film becomes more and more desperate, the lights are removed and the shadows glower and threaten. Only bullet holes let in any more light, leaving shafts of light to taunt the stars with the hope they may get out of this alive.

This realism (which isn't entirely there in the plot TBH), extends to wounds. A character is shot in the thigh early on in the film and spends the rest of the film limping painfully about. Other characters are injured throughout the events and stay injured, they don't suddenly find the ability to fire guns after being shot in the shoulder. This is gritty film-making and helps make 'The Nest' so successful. It feels real, you don't know what characters are going to make it or not. This leads to genuine tension. We may have seen the story before (wounded character stays behind to protect his friends; scared character finds the inner strength to confront the enemies head on), but its presentation here feels exciting and, if not exactly fresh, new.

Another major lesson that Hollywood should learn from this film is the way it looks. There are some magic shots in here - a standout is an exact remake of Charlie Sheen's airlift from the Jungle in Platoon (!) - which not only looks great, and is genuinely unusual, but also adds greatly to our understanding of the character involved.

'The Nest' is not original, it is also not high art. It is an extremely solid action picture that is unusually exciting and tense. The director, Florent-Emilio Siri, conjures up desperation, hopelessness and genuine evil from his group of talented character actors as well as successfully re-creating Carpenter's feeling of an unstoppable army out to get them. The idea that the villains are insectile and swarming around outside highlighted by the low-light headgear they all wear is interesting and well illustrated. Siri got the gig directing Bruce Willis in 'Hostage', which is interesting as I would genuinely rate 'The Nest' alongside Willis' 'Die Hard' as examples of how to do an action movie well. It really is that good.

The French are known for stylish and sophisticated films, including those in the action/thriller genre. One of the current luminaries is Luc Besson, best known for Subway (1985), La Femme Nikita (1990), Taxi (2000), The Transporter (2002) and others, all well produced and directed.

The Nest, directed by Florent Emilio Siri – who went on to direct Hostage (2005) with Bruce Willis starring - goes for the jugular, however: non-stop, slam-bang action that sucks you in with some cool characters and an innovative mise en scene that relies very much on a fantastic coincidence and with a heavy nod to John Carpenter's Assault on Precinct 13 (1976).

I'm not against coincidences. I've experienced fantastic coincidences that, if put into fiction, would be scorned. And, I'm not against a director using a similar idea as another; it's the best form of flattery. But, I know some would be upset by this apparent double whammy. So, be warned.

Here's the scene: a group of six robbers raid a warehouse to steal computers and such like. Shortly after they get down to their job, they're interrupted by a special police armored car that busts into the warehouse because it's being pursued by a large – like I mean, very large – group of Albanian Mafiosi who want to bust up that tin car of a car and bust out their Big Boss who's being held prisoner by a small band of reeeeeeel tough cops who just don't see it the mob's way.

Well, you guessed it: the six (almost) harmless robbers join forces with the special coppers to stand and fight the real bad guys. And all because the coppers want to keep that Big Boss safe to go to court the next day. Stand by your man, with a difference...

Which, of course, results in some harsh words and harsh action between the coppers and the robbers at first, but, as Machiavelli said long ago: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." So, hell on earth continues for most of the hundred minutes of the story.

There are the usual heroics, the stock coward who gets his reward, and there are those who rise to the occasion in the face of insurmountable odds – particularly the night watchman whose knowledge of the layout provides a crucial turning point in the battle.

And, what a battle it is: I don't know how long it took the special effects guys to set up each scene or partial scene but I reckon the actors had long coffee breaks between takes. There's more than enough action for the freaks in this one. Little wonder Hollywood enticed Siri to direct Hostage, a story with a similar (again) theme of being trapped inside with bad guys outside.

The only actor I recognized was Sami Naceri whom I last saw in Taxi, a rip-roaring and blistering ride around the streets of Marseilles. He's a funny guy and worth catching.

For me, it was quite entertaining and believable while also managing to stay on the better side of parody – despite the six robbers whistling the theme tune from The Magnificent Seven (1960) on the way to the robbery...

Recommended for all except the kiddies.

P.S. I never liked Assault on Precinct 13 anyway.

Watching THE NEST I was reminded in quite a few ways of DIE HARD, which I consider to be the archetypal action movie. Very pure of focus, very lean and taught and *incredibly* intense. It's been a long time since a movie kept me on the edge of my seat like this one.

The premise is very simple. A group of special forces soldiers are escorting a mafia head to trial when they're attacked by his men and take refuge in a warehouse. As luck would have it, a gang of thieves choose the same night to rob the same warehouse, and they get caught in the crossfire.

Once the groups of characters are introduced, it's not long before the bullets start flying... and flying, and flying and flying. It's almost non-stop action for the rest of the film, and easily outdoes HARD BOILED for bullet count. I'm sure some people will find this very boring, so if intense adrenalin-inducing action isn't one of your things then skip the rest of this review (and the film). The rest of you, skip the rest of this review and go rent/buy/acquire this film. Hollywood only wishes it could make an action film this pure or this exciting these days.

As regards purity (since I've mentioned it twice), this means that the film focusses on building intense action, and doesn't let itself get distracted with other concerns, except in a few cases. The characters are given just enough development to let us know who they are, and pretty much no back story. One character in particular seems like he must have a story to tell, but all we learn is that he was once a fireman. There was surely more to him than that, but it's kept a mystery. Maybe that's a good thing, but I'd have liked to know a little more. A few times the movie teases you into thinking there's going to be a twist, and you say to yourself "Ha, I see what's coming later", but the plot remains refreshingly twist-free. It doesn't need them, so it doesn't have them. Pure.

It's just a shame that Hollywood's marketing machinery has such an iron grip on the world's cinema distribution that junk like Alien vs Predator will be seen by millions of people, and a movie as good as THE NEST will remain inexplicably classed as "Indie" or "Arthouse", even in its home country.

A fairly unoriginal movie, but terrifically entertaining for action fans. Others steer clear.

The story kicks off with three groups meeting in the same tight spot: a huge warehouse. One group is a band of crooks. Second we have a group of commandos who where transporting a wanted terrorist and they just took a beating from his henchmen, who are the third group and they are relentlessly trying to get their boss back. The crooks team up with the commandos to save their hides from the terrorists. Hong Kong style action and fireworks ensue.

In a nice step the action and violence grows increasingly over the top. Starting with typical action film shoot-out and finally barreling towards utter chaos and inhumanity and, in the end, the bad guys are portrayed almost as gun totting demons rather than humans. They are vile, robotic, and bestial. Especially the terrorist leader who has some nasty fingernails. That is pretty ridiculous, but from an action movie point of view it is quite stylish and even refreshing for a change. Also it makes a statement about the sense of all the violence. 7/10

Rated R: plenty of violence, and profanity (in French, nonetheless)

The Nest has a lot of things going for it. An interesting premise, pretty good acting, intense action, and some really above average cinematography and direction. However I found that I just couldn't get as engaged as I really wanted to in this movie. I think part of the problem was the dialogue, which tended to be a bit comic-bookish. Also the characters, while not totally one-dimensional, don't really add up to anyone you like enough to seriously root for. And I think in a siege movie that's an important element - you have to want the people who are holding out to make it. I wasn't invested enough in any of the characters to care whether they came through the other side. But watching this film isn't a total waste of time either - some of the scenes are really amazingly well done, almost poetic. A mixed bag, but tons of eye candy for true action fans.

This is a beautifully mounted action thriller that creates suspense with a deliberate setup and then wonderfully delivers on those expectations. When it gets going it's truly relentless. This is far better than any American action film of recent years and there's a lesson to be learned here. Especially with creating interesting multi-layered characters we care about coupled with the unpredictability that anyone can get killed at any time. When the audience cares about the characters the main battle of any action flick is won--we have a vested interest. At that point there's no other place to be but on the edge of your seat. If this is not picked up for US distribution it'll be a crime, and our loss.

This is pretty ordinary stuff for those not devoted to brainless action flicks; a kind of fusion of the ideas behind Assault on Precinct 13 (which was itself a remake of Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo) and the Living Dead pictures, this French spin on the Hollywood action genre takes too long to set up its siege scenario and populates itself with colourless characters with whom the viewer has no chance of identifying, but has enough enthusiasm and zip to lift it above the more cynical efforts produced by Hollywood these days..

The action mostly takes place in a warehouse to which an under siege armoured vehicle carrying a Mafia chieftain to trial retreats when it is ambushed by what seems like the entire Albanian chapter of the organisation. As luck would have it, a bunch of crooks are in the middle of stealing a couple of container's worth of laptops when the police arrive, and an uneasy alliance is formed between them as they attempt to prevent the gangsters gaining entry.

Now if I was one of those highly-trained strategic swatty-types with a security guard who knew how to operate a gantry crane at my disposal the first thing I would have done is place a couple of fully-loaded containers in front of each entranceway and sat it out in relative safety. So would you, I imagine. Granted, it wouldn't make much of a movie, but at least you'd have been safe. But of course this is action movie land – 'pure' action, apparently, which as far as I can gather means that there is virtually no attempt made to give any of the characters any, well… character, and everyone races around firing indiscriminately like a testosterone-charged stag party on a paintball weekend.

It takes nearly forty-five minutes for all the strands to be pulled together into anything approaching a coherent storyline – up until then only the scriptwriter knows what is going on – but once the real action starts, in the form of enthusiastic gunplay, the film does at least begin to entertain in that mindless sense that draws us to these kind of flicks in the first place. There's nothing very original about any of it – although I liked the way the advancing mafia army in their night vision outfits resembled alien invaders, and the prominent and strong roles given to the two women – and the plot doesn't stand up under even passing scrutiny, but it's all pulled off with a certain Gallic style by director Florent Emilio Siri, who has since gone on to direct action heavyweight Bruce Willis in The Hostage, and the film is also free of any misplaced sentimentality as it winds its way towards an entirely predictable climax.

The worst with Nid de guêpes is not really the lack of originality. More than a rehash of Assault on precinct 13 it copies and pastes the narrative structure of Night of the living dead. But it's pretty well done with only a few mild and immature scenes. The worst is how they tried to sell this stuff: the trailer is awful (I only went to see it for the technical interest of some scenes I heard about) and the promotional tour failed to arouse people's interest on some good points. So if you want to play low key with a basic structure which shan't lead viewers astray and won't appeal to the critics you must have good marketing men. (Hey! it's always cool when a good director can blame his failure on the lame marketing men)

OK. Now the true weak points according to me.

1- the converging paths of three different groups of people as a starting point. It kills the suspense about what will come up: almost everyone knows and expects the assault to take place. This delaying dodge is not as compelling as it might have been (Romero and Carpenter stay focused from the start on one single inescapable path).

2- corollary: the care for every guy involved depends too much on the individual story of his group. OK, narrative and visual shortcuts are really efficient but I think it could have been more tense than the dispatching experimented here. The hell with all those damned sentimentalist backstories to plastic-surge characters! it only shows a director's lack of self-confidence to rely on simple images and pure action. The same goes with the assault forces: with a big fat backstory to back their motivation it's yet another plot element written off from the audience's intelligence (imagination, identification, whatever you call it, the McGuffin rules - note to discursive film-fiddlers: maybe you need to start over with The Birds, Duel and Jaws?). Which leads to...

3- narrative space encompassing: the assault death squadron is weakly used. I would point out here the major flaw (originality flaw) since the helmet guys are just as dynamic as George Romero's Zombies. The general rhythm is o.k., that's why it seems not to matter on the whole. But the screenplay (co-writ by Siri's former movie teacher) seems quite pleased with itself once the global thing is set up.

4- if you will kill your heroes try not to care for their background (oh! it's your daughter in the photograph? she's so cute). Cheap tricks never pay off: we only want them to care for their lives here and now! ...

Bottom line: building up from a basic structure is not piece of cake or as some could say 'Movie making for dummies'. But even if you've learnt a lot from the classics you need to be original to go one step further: basically, show the audience you got guts.

-UPDATE (24/1/05)- On second viewing the core problem is definitely about the narrative space encompassing. The point being the warehouse is too vast a building to make the pressure of the assault a permanent one (just compare with the small rooms in Night of the living dead or Assault on p13). Actually there are quite a few moments in the movie when the assault stops and you may wonder why those über-equipped terrorists take so much time trying to get in through the main entrance. That's not so much 'icebox logic' as a real narrative and structural flaw. What with the big warehouse and the three distinct narrative groups inside, Nid de guêpes lacks a sense of claustrophobia, of some outer pressure crushing gradually inwards from every wall.

It's not bad as an action thriller. I guess Norte-Americanos are more surprised than Europeans with the quality of the flick. Well yeah, there is life this side of the pond. Of course, jailing of an Albanian mafia boss does happen sometimes in EU and its rare enough to give thrills to the french movie makers. Rarer than jailing a Serbian ex-communist, for sure. I really doubt French and Germans would organize that hypothetical arrest that way, that would be a scandal. But whatever, its a perfect occasion to pack in as many shots, explosions and metallic sounds as possible in a movie that happens in Strasbourg! Forget Baghdad and Gaza, we've got wild Muslims right behind the European Court, heehaw! So its a must if you want to enjoy all of your mega speakers, go for it, pump up the volume!

The Nest is a good movie but it lacks one thing. A soundtrack. It's rather dull without a soundtrack. Here's a tip. If you are watching it on Netflix or from another online source, open a few ,more tabs in your browser and go to YouTube and open the theme songs to every John Carpenter movie ever made (Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween, Starman, Escape from New York and so on), as well as theme songs from The Warriors and horror movies such as Suspiria or The Excorcist or whatever else you can think of and play these theme songs simultaneously while you are watching The Nest. You will find it a much more enjoyable experience.

One doesn't (when one is American, at least) expect to get glossy, high-budget action films from the French; I didn't realize they even MADE this kind of movie. Do industry folk believe that foreign action films won't travel well or be able to compete with similar Hollywood product? If so, I'm surprised THE NEST didn't change all that. (Maybe it went straight to DVD here in the US.) Whatever the reason, this superior example of tight, twisty action film-making is worth recommending to anybody interested.

Boasting a great plot, better than average writing and acting, and knockout direction, the film involves four sets of people--two of them lawbreakers, the other two law enforcers, whom chance and a little coincidence bring together with frightening, violent, bloody and surprisingly believable results. Most of the action is confined to one huge warehouse, and the director manages to eek out every bit of surprise, suspense and clever logistics from this unusual location. I have not seen as good a film of this type since the original "Die Hard."

An ensemble piece using a terrific group of actors, the movie waits until its close to list its cast. I was so involved by the logistics and fast pace that I failed to recognize several of my favorite French actors: Benoit Magimel ("The Piano Teacher," "The King Dances"), Pascal Greggory ("Those Who Love Me Can Take the Train"), and Sami Bouajila ("The Adventures of Felix"). Director Florent Emilio Siri has a new film coming out next year ("The Hostage"); on the basis of his "Nest," I can't wait.

Note: the DVD comes in its original French language with English subtitles and with an English dubbed alternative--which I have heard is badly done. This is NOT a dialog-heavy movie (most actions films aren't) so try it with the subtitles. I did--and was hooked from start to finish.

At last! Here comes a film where the French show the Americans how to make a good action-movie. And that without high-tech effects or a multi-million dollar (eh, euro) budget.

I never heard of this film anywhere, but the guy in the video store recommended it to me, so I checked it out... And, man, was it worth it!!! This film is the best action film I have seen for years. Not since Die Hard or Shiri have I enjoyed an action movie this much. As with most of these films the story isn't original and may be copied from other films, but so what? As long as it is done properly, so be it. And this film delivers. Non-stop action, realistic violence (meaning when someone catches a few bullets he/she stays down) and (the most important thing in an action film) good villains with absolutely no conscience. There is no exaggerated humour, no gags and no unbelievable gadgets. There was only one thing where I scratched my head: why do the terrorists give the others enough time to rearrange all the containers?

Bottom-line: if you hate these so called high-profile action films from Hollywood which want to be so über-cool (Bad Boys II anyone?) then check out this film. You will not regret it! 9/10

A French action film that more than earns its place in the genre. It pays homage to American action films and the Alien quadrology with its score more reminiscent of a horror than an action film.

The plot is simple: a gang of ex-cons intend to rob a warehouse of a large stash of IT equipment. A multi-national police armed escort of a dangerous Albanian human trafficker interrupt their efforts when they are forced to divert and take refuge in the warehouse after being chased by cohorts of their prisoner, who are intent on springing him free. Trapped inside the warehouse the gang and police unite to stave off and survive the external attack from the Albanians.

The homage to the Alien films runs throughout from the opening credits where an image of white light holes, that we see later during one of the shoot outs, merge to form the title of the film as did the light in the universe at the start of 'Alien'. The Albanian thugs clearly represent the alien attackers and wear masks with red lights (that reminded me of the cybermen from Dr Who), which makes them look like aliens. There are lots of details in the film that seem to echo the Alien films, too many to list. One of my favourites is the way the Albanians call to the prisoner and he answers them from within the warehouse much as the alien soldiers call to the queen within the film 'Aliens'. There is also a dominant female lead Inspector Labourie, played by Nadia Fares, who like Ripley is maternal, courageous and ruthless in her quest to survive.

What this film brings to the action genre is intelligent imagery and a new brand of anti-hero. The film's title in French should read as 'Hornets' Nest' and not just 'The Nest'. The film begins with one of its anti-heroes, Louis, relaxing in the sunshine whilst a documentary plays on his TV. The documentary is the story of the 'Tarantula Hawk' wasp, which in French is called 'Pepsis Heros'. This wasp is described as being a parasitoid that ensnares Tarantulas as hosts for its larvae to use for food, eating the spider alive from within. Pretty gruesome stuff. The imagery is ambiguous because initially one expects the spider to win against the insect, but it falls prey. Throughout the film it is not clear who is wasp and who is spider: the ambushed/trapped people in the warehouse or the external attackers? Is the danger without: the wasp entrapping the spider (the Albanians attacking the warehouse), or from within where the wasp larvae eating their way out (the trapped turning on the attackers)? The intelligence in the imagery is that as the film progresses 'good guys' die and their success is uncertain, keeping the audience gripped to the last.

Of the handful of protagonists there are two anti-heroes: Louis, a warehouse security guard, and Santino, one of the ex-con gang who eschews guns for chewing gum and whistling. Both are thoughtful and resourceful, yet have an aura of mystery that keeps the audience unsure of them and their allegiances throughout. We see their bravery and their fears as well as their vulnerability to harm and death. Unusual in action heroes of any type.

I can't recommend this film enough and although it's great to discover a hidden gem, it deserves more accolade than its present IMDb rating gives.

Director and writer Florent Emilio Siri has created a gem in The Nest.

Starring Samy Naceri who has also been in another classic flick, Leon: The Professional 1994.

Also starring Benoit Magimel who was also in another classic French crime flick, Crime Insiders 2007.

Also starring Nadia Fares who was also in another classic flick, Storm Warning 2007.

I enjoyed the cinematography, set designs and the shootouts.

If you enjoyed this as much as I did then check out other classic French crime flicks, 13th District 2004, Kiss of the Dragon 2001, Point Blank 2010, Chrysalis 2007, The Prey 2011, Mea culpa 2014, Sleepless Night 2011, Bastille Day 2016, Braqueurs 2015, Dobermann 1997, The Lookout 2012, From Paris with Love 2010, The Snake 2006, French Connection II 1975, Lost Bullet 2020, Rogue City 2020, The Stronghold 2021 and Ronin 1998.

Way too many people like to pick apart a movie thinking they are a movie critic. Makes you wonder if they ever take the time to WATCH the movie, let alone try to enjoy it!

For me, this movie was intense! I liked the acting, though some of the crooks were a bit overboard, but what the heck would you do if you were there? Act calm? And some scenes were just plain jaw dropping for me. And the mercenaries always shown wearing the night vision masks are frightfully reminiscent of the pig masked killers in the old classic American Werewolf in London! It sure got to me!!!!

The best ways I could sum up this movie is:

1) I watched it TWICE when I rented it

2) I am going to buy this ASAP!!!!!! If you like a movie, show your support by buying it!!!! That is the BEST way to vote.

Considering that my all-region DVD player was on the fritz and I missed half the subtitles, I really enjoyed this movie. The visuals were striking and the acting solid. Great modern-day "Western". Thoroughly entertaining.

A terrific, pure action movie. THE NEST was obviously heavily inspired by Hollywood action pictures, most notably that of Cameron's ALIENS and, according to the movie, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. The narrative is right on the money, and the film delivers on the intensity and insane action. It's really the best action movie I've seen from France in a long, long time. Not since the years of Luc Besson's glory days. And as they did with LA FEMME NIKITA, I'm sure the French movie industry, so mired in its undying pretentiousness, will not pay this excellent movie any interest. Which probably makes the director's jump to Hollywood a good thing -- the French movie industry will never embrace him. Hollywood will.

Best siege movie I've seen... felt like living out a game of Counterstrike! I think anyone who likes a good action movie will like this - don't let the French/subtitles put you off - there is not a huge amount of dialogue, so it doesn't detract much from the experience.

The action is intense, but real - things explode, but only when it makes sense that they do - not like a Hollywood movie where one bullet will cause anything to burst into flame...

Enough reading, go see it!

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