User Reviews

Some titles, such as the one for this film, can be baffling. Not having any idea this production was based on a successful comic book that has been quite popular in France, we had no inkling what to expect, but the prospect of watching Miki Manojlovic and Kristin Scott-Thomas in the same picture was a deciding factor. As far as how authentic the adaptation is, unfortunately, not having read the source material, it would be one's own guess.

The film is full of action. It takes the viewer to a lot of places, covering a lot of territory. The selection of Hong Kong as the place where the action takes place proves to be an exciting destination, especially the last sequence where Largo, the hero of the story has a sort of show down with the man commissioned to kill him.

Directed by Jerome Salle, who also contributed to the screenplay with Julien Rappeaneau, works well as a thriller that takes the viewer to a number of interesting locations. The film is helped by the brilliant cinematography of Denis Rouden and the music score by none other than Alexander Desplat, a busy man working in movies today.

In finding Tomer Sisley for the title role, Mr. Salle found a young actor that is pleasant enough to involve the audience. The wonderful Miki Manojlovic plays the self made billionaire that adopted Largo to be the heir to the empire he built. Kristin Scott-Thomas shows why she is one of the best actresses working today. The multi-national cast speaks in different accents and languages. The picture will not disappoint lovers of the genre.

Right from the opening with the brutal murder of billionaire, Neiro Winch, to the end of the film with Largo finally accepting who he is, Jerome Salle, has created a strong, character driven, action film in adapting Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq's fantastic graphic novel. From the introduction of Largo - saving a girl from very large soldiers - Salle keeps the story and character beats strong throughout his action sequences. And the way he frames his shots truly shows off the beauty of the world wide setting of a Largo Winch story.

The story is very well done, both in writing and as shown on the screen, concentrating on Largo's life as he searches for his place in life as oppose to action sequence after action sequence.

Tomer Sisley is spectacular as Largo Winch. Playing the role with passion, wit and cockiness. He owns the screen when he's on it and doesn't give an inch to any of the extremely strong actors he's playing against. Kristen Scott Thomas is deliciously slimy as Group W's number two. She needs to play villains more often. My personal favourite scenes are every one with Tomer Sisley and Karel Roden together. Two fantastic actors that both went for it and didn't give an inch to the other.

This is a fantastic action film that has more heart and story then most north American films. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys well written action/espionage film.

I love foreign film. I love spy/espionage films. I love action films.

I rented this one for all of those reasons.

Watch this one for it's hot locales and high-production values. Past that - this movie is really, really bad.

I have NO CLUE how this is scored this high here.

The acting is as rigid as a treated 2 x 4. The script was written by the same guy that wrote the "See Spot Run" book. Every detail of the film is repeated 5 times - as if the viewers have a 48 IQ. I really felt insulted by how they kept repeating the same stuff over and over.

There is no plot.

Hong Kong looks great on film. I've been there. It's a beautiful place. If not for the landscapes and couple of decent action scenes - I would have voted this even lower.

Do yourself a favor and pass on this one.

The back-story is poorly put together, and the current story is non-existent.

Very disappointed. Looks good, but the acting and writing are deplorable!

I usually put "If you like this you might like____ ____" lists on my reviews, but if you DID like this - then the chances of me recommending something and you actually liking it is highly improbable.

39/100 WOrst "good" looking film I've seen in a long, long time.

Think "Quantum of Solace" - only with weak acting, and an even weaker plot(is that even possible),...oh, and less action too.

Among all the comic strips adapted for the screen ,"Largo Winch" is somewhat better than the movies made before (Tintin,Asterix,Michel Vaillant,Blueberry etc) .The reason can be found in the very nature of Francq /Van Hamme 's cartoon books :they are more "realistic " than their peers' works,their screenplays are cinema stories with astute flashbacks blending the present with the past ,they are aimed at the teenagers/young adults market.The subject (dough is in the center of the plot) may repel some but Largo is not that much interested in it and the last sequence (faithful to the book ,except for a detail)shows a man talking with a little boy ,displaying nostalgia for a childhood in a tender family.(the cover of the second book shows two Largo:as a man and as a boy,the man has his hand on his former self's shoulder.)

The scenes in the prison are botched and the 100 pages of the book are treated in less than an hour.So the necessity(?) to introduce a second heir and to turn Scott-Thomas's character into a villain .

Let's say it:the movie is not on a par with the book ;the story took place in New York,they chose Hong Kong instead ,which is not a bad choice ,but the purple passages lack the strength they had on the paper:the death of the tycoon,sapped by cancer,the hellish Turkish prisons (a nod at "Midnight express"?),and the scenes on the island which verge on melodrama .

But the biggest surprise is the complete absence of Simon Ovronnaz who appeared on page 19 and would be to Winch what Captain Haddock is to Tintin.Some suggest they save the character for Largo Winch II which is to be released next February .

The movie is similar to the Bourne series in some ways. The plot of the movie is surprisingly interesting/new (adoption of two! children, many different countries/languages, exotic/beautiful locations, quite a bit of business talk that actually makes sense if you have some basic knowledge ...). I guess it is not surprising to know that it was made after a french/belgian bande dessinée, lots of great twists and turns.

What I thought was not great is the acting of the lead character. In my view Matt Damon for example is much more credible in his role as Jason Bourne. I understand the main character here has a sort of John McClane-style larger-than-life approach, but when you are in a scene where your mother has been murdered, you know your father has been murdered, or your brother has deceived you and is killed, you would think there should be some feelings involved, otherwise there is no humor and instead you get a feeling that it is all fake. Even the scenes where he's with women seem fake as well, and especially the last one with the child back in his homeland, which is supposed to be kind of a deep emotion time and yet it comes across as a totally "forced" situation. Some of the action scenes could also be improved, as he is not the best to handle real hand-to-hand fights like Jason Stratham or Jet Li are, for example. I don't think Matt Damon is either, yet the filming of those scenes in the Bourne series was much better, resulting in more convincing scenes. I guess maybe if you spend 24 million euro you have to cut back on certain things that decrease the quality.

A good Action/Thriller Movie. Proof yet again that France can deliver good movies in the genre. After reading the 14 reviews that preceded mine and doing a little digging, I was able to find out the origin of the character, specifically that it is a character from illustrated or graphic novels created by Jean Van Hamme and Philippe Francq. I also noticed that there was a television series based on the same work.

Well that being said, I admit enjoying Julien Rappeneau and Jérôme Salle's scenario adaptation. I am not in any way attempting to critique or compare the movie adaptation to either the graphic novel or the TV series. The movie, as a standalone work, was most entertaining.

The pace is fast but has necessary slower scenes allowing us to get to understand the characters and the circumstances, instead of being driven solely by action and special effects, both of which are not lacking in the least. I was unfamiliar with most actors in this movie and I thoroughly enjoyed the performances, particularly the one of the lead role. Familiar only (to me) was Kristin Scott Thomas who plays the key character Ann Ferguson which, based on the later scenes in this movie, will certainly, and sadly for me, not be back in the 2011 sequel (which I look forward to seeing), also a Jérôme Salle written and directed movie.

I don't like to read reviews that affirm either Hollywood or Euro made action and thriller movies being better than the other; it's a matter of taste, not opinion which means those who can enjoy both have the best of both worlds. I am very happy to see Euro made action and thriller movies as a welcome change of perspective and culture. Pity for those who only want to eat fried chicken and potatoes; they are missing out on all the other culinary delights. So it goes for movies and books. The graphic novel The Heir – Largo Winch, is not one of a super hero like so many American ones are; instead it is a novel based on a regular person living an extraordinary life and that type of adventure put to screen is one I hope you will like as much as I did.

When I sat down to watch 'Largo Winch' I expected nothing more than action scenes and fascinating cars. When I stood up, I've seen both of these; and more.

Karl Roden was finally not the antagonist in a movie, to start with. Kristin Scott Thomas played her role well, but the real two stars in my opinion were Tomer Sisley and Miki Manojlovic, both acting superbly. In Radivoje Bukvic portrayed Goran well.

The mixed linguistics brought a nice color to the movie, but I understand why people would get bored with it.

The scenery of Hong Kong and especially the stunning Croatian seaside both amazed me, and I hardly wanted to take my eyes off the screen when Largo entered the unbelievably beautiful island.

Rolls Royce Phantom; Mercedes S500, and BMW 7; if anyone loves expensive limousine - type cars; this is their movie. It is also a movie for people who love action sequences, good acting, landscapes of extremal beauty, and above all, a fast - paced, well written action movie, with dazzling combat and a thoroughly twined inner drama.

My vote, as it has enlightened a gloomy day is: 10/10

Sorry, Largo Winch fans, but this is no 10 movie. I will tell you why.

The basic idea about this movie is sound, the Largo Winch comic is pretty good, violent enough (by far) for making an action movie of and has a unique theme, the secret stepson pulled into the world of economy against his will.

I actually like the mix of English and french. It just adds flavor.

Many scenes are visually good. Much nice scenery.

But there are a whole bunch of things that are questionable, and a few that are downright bad.

I don't really mind that the hero doesn't look like Largo Winch, but it seems strange that they have replaced the hero with someone who looks very much like his sidekick (Simon), who is missing in the movie.

I like the comic, and I have seen much worse movie adaptations of comics as well as books. (Judge Dredd, Modesty Blaise.) It seems to me that too many "adaptations" are really made by someone who wanted to make a totally different movie. Judge Dredd was made by someone who wanted to do The Godfather, Modesty Blaise was made by someone who wanted to to Hair. And, ironically, I Robot was made by someone who wanted to to Judge Dredd!

Largo Winch is a mixed bag in this respect. Much of the Winch concept is used (good!), but they also mixed in a whole lot of another story, and that story is Full Throttle! Yes, the video game with Mark Hamill as the villain! That story is also about a company takeover, and unlike the original Winch, Full Throttle has the same basic plot as this movie, and more.

Much of the movie follows the plot in album 1-4, but somewhere along the line the plot switches into another one. Several characters are added to build a whole new plot, and the ending is a straight ripoff from Full Throttle. Actually, too much of the story is just that, a Full Throttle ripoff (a story that was also about taking over a company from the inside). Did we really need that, when the original plot was not a ripoff? Big minus!

Many interesting and central characters are dropped and forgotten. Where are Simon Ovronnaz, Cochrane, Sullivan, Fenimore, Cotton... Only a few characters are kept, Hannah and her husband and Pennywinkle, and instead a whole bunch of new characters are added. Although the concept is not totally ruined (a few of the new characters can be identified as direct replacements to the old ones), too much of the foundations are removed and replaced by something else, which is not better.

Then we have the script and tempo. In many cases, the suspense is lacking, the tempo and scripting is bad. This is where Largo Winch makes itself comparable to newer Bond movies. On several occasions, it makes the "jump up suddenly and say boo" stunt, which is all too common in the new Bond movies. This is not good, it is a sign of amateurish scripting. We have known for years that only poor horror movies work on scaring the audience in such a way. NEVER do that! Instead of the "boo" stunt you should let the viewer know that something is coming, and build suspense. Hitchcock knew this, but all too many new movie makers don't. Largo Winch makes it almost right in the beginning, but later it goes totally off here. The first case is the killing of a guy during the board meeting. A few seconds of warning (music, see an unknown assassin picking up a gun...) would guide us, help us see that something nasty is coming so we get time to prepare. But the movie makers were not professional enough to know that, but make this cheap mistake several times! Wham! Boo! I scared you!

The movie is better than the newer Bond movies, but rather because the new Bond movies are utter garbage very much based on trying to drop its own concept and replacing it with a committee construction, while this at least has some positive merits, especially its own concept which is mostly follows. But it could have been a lot better.

I have looked, briefly, into the TV series, and it looks superior in so many ways. Better casting, all those central characters are retained.

Summary:

+ Uses the basic theme and background of Largo Winch fairly well. (Hence, quite a bit of action.)

+ Mixes in a lot of french. I like that, this is a french movie.

+ Many scenes are visually good.

• Poor suspense, good opportunities wasted on "boo!" scenes.

• Under-uses the character gallery of the original.

• Casting is unimpressive.

• Obvious Full Throttle ripoff in plot and ending!