The Squad (2015) Poster

(2015)

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6/10
Straight forward action flick
Bantam26 January 2016
This one is a straight forward, no-frills action flick. No twists, no turns.

The cast is decent and the story is plausible without being too cliché laden. Nonetheless, for European audiences some of the action (and subsequently its impact on the "environment" and the consequences for the cops) might seem over-the-top. But we've learned to live with the fact, that "action cops" can blow up a building, to get a pickpocket. And it just earns them 3 weeks behind the desk.

Most of the dialogue is okay, some exchanges are even funny, without being silly. But it's not a Lethal Weapon/Die Hard kinda thing.

Directing goes okay even though some of the action sequences are a tiny bit hectic- the cuts made during editing look a bit like they were made on purpose to emphasize the intense exchange of gunfire. IMO here less would have been more. It would be more en par with the rest of the movie. But in general the overall pace is okay.

As mentioned, the story is a no-frills crime/thriller which is suitable for a decent action flick. Do not expect too much from it, though.

Unfortunately Jean Reno has gotten old. You can tell by the way he moves in several shots- also, when the action kicks in he is "magically" more agile, thanks to stunt people. But he still does well as an aging cop. I just do not like the full beard he is sporting in this one.

To sum it up, it's a decent French action flick, liberally borrowing from American action cinema in terms of craftsmanship.
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7/10
The french Sweeney
kosmasp1 February 2016
If you watch this and you have a Deja Vu (how french of me), than you're onto something. This is a remake of the British movie "Sweeney". It's not point for point and it takes certain liberties (it's shorter for that matter than the original), but it does have a lot of moments too. The relationship between the Reno character and three other characters in this are nicely drawn out.

Not as fine as those that are shown in the British original. But the charming nature of the cast at hand here and the well shot action scenes, really give it a lift. The important parts have been transfered to this french version, but as said this is a smaller affair (no pun intended). If you've seen the Original you might therefor feel a bit cheated upon ... not unlike someone in this movie!
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6/10
Better than the original
Leofwine_draca21 December 2016
Warning: Spoilers
As the title would suggest, THE SWEENEY: Paris is a straightforward remake of the British crime film THE SWEENEY, starring Ray Winstone. I didn't like the British version because of the direction by Nick Love, which I thought was entirely lacklustre. The good news is that THE SWEENEY: Paris is much better, with a tighter script and much better-directed action scenes.

The story is nothing new and merely involves the usual cops and robbers stuff, with three big set-pieces dotted amid the story. Said set-pieces are gloriously violent, with massive shoot-outs on the scale of HEAT and some aggressive hand-to-hand combat thrown into the mix too. It's definitely a film for those of us who enjoy watching bad guys getting their heads smashed in with baseball bats.

The lead role is taken by the aged-but-still-got-it Jean Reno, who is a delight and much better than Winstone was. Reno is well supported by an engaging cast that includes a nice role for Caterina Murino, once a Bond girl and still deeply attractive after the passage of years. The other characters seem to have better depth than usual for the genre too. THE SWEENEY: Paris has the edge over the last French action thriller I watched, RABID DOGS.
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What ever happened to Benjamin Rocher
searchanddestroy-122 August 2015
I can't believe it. How can anyone may find this crime action flick worth? How? What a deception for me. After I watched the trailer, I expected the worst, I expected a pure comedy like LETHAL WEAPON, but it is not. You have here some comedy lines but that's all. The main problem is else where. Everything here is predictable, dull, a total mess. Benjamin Rocher gave us several years ago a short film called RIVOUALEN which was a true masterpiece, and after he made LA HORDE, a very exciting horror film too. And I don't understand why he made this juicy straight to garbage can crap. When I go to see a crime flick speaking of Sweeney and bank robbers, I expect a brutal, bloody, crepuscular, dark, bleak feature, as JP Melville did 40 years ago, or Olivier Marchal gives us since 15 years now. I don't expect such a crap. What's happened to Benjamin Rocher? The scene where Jean Reno is hit by a car, thrown in the air and then gets away with only a scratch on his forehead, I realize how deep in s... this movie dove. Run away from it !!!
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6/10
Good French cop movie
vn19651 November 2021
This is a fun cop movie and the French are very good at doing this kind of film.

Although I feel that Jean Reno is too old to do this role. He could be the commissioner, but I don't believe him as someone who could be in the middle of the action. I also don't believe in the romance. This thing of old guys with young women has to stop.
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7/10
A regular movie like the predecessor...
RosanaBotafogo23 April 2021
A remake of "Squad Without Limits" almost frame by frame, here we have the most efficient action scenes, even more dramatic and with few comic strips, the previous one had none, they tried to clean the police bar a little, softening the scenes of corruption, gave a good revamping in the version of 2012, slightly superior, except for the absence of the smoker kid, who turned into a pregnant smoker, a regular movie like the predecessor...
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5/10
Not what I expected
benisof7 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I looked forward to seeing this movie as I like Jean Reno very much. Unfortunately, this movie was a bit of a disappointment. The premise was nice, having a police squad which does what it needs to do in order to stop crime, even if this means using some non-standard methods. Unfortunately, the action scenes showed that they do not seem at all professionals. For example, in the final showdown where the bad guys are heavily armed, there are two members of the squad who insist in using a baseball and an iron bar to beat some of the bad guys. Not to mention one of the initial scenes where in order to put down one of the bad guys Jean Reno comes with an excavator through a wall... Why??? How absurd is that? Then it comes the chase in Paris where the squad runs after the bad guys, but to my surprise the police is nowhere to be found even if they exchange gunshots in populated public places... Then, instead of sealing the parking, Jean Reno and his lover go alone in the dark, searching for the bad guys, providing a perfect opportunity for the girl to be killed... Another point is the dialogs, which do not seem at all natural. It feels that they are cut and pasted together, and even if I'm not French, I can tell that the accent of some of the actors is at least bizarre (Margaux, for example). Another fact which made the movie so dull is seeing Jean Reno walk. It is so obvious that he is old, too old to portray a cop which leads a brigade which fights crime directly.
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7/10
Not the greatest crime flick, but not bad either...
imseeg19 September 2023
A group of cops are after a very clever criminal, who hasnt been caught for years. Will they finally catch him?

The good: the actors. We get to see a cast of French actors that are simply rock solid, with Jean Reno in another macho cop role and he does perform it to the T. All the other actors are good as well and they have great chemistry.

More good: there are some nice heist and chase sequences, which are not riveting, but enjoyable enough for such a standard crime flick.

Any bad? Well, there are some attempts at romance in between, which serve no point to the action plot, But perhaps some folks like a bit of romance and husband and wife stuff. I dont care much about that, because I watch it for the ACTION, of which there is plenty of (fortunately).

All in all another well made French crime flikc, definitely not the best, nor the most thrilling,, but it'll do nicely as an enjoyable pastime...
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1/10
Worthless!
gogettheroach8 March 2019
I expected better. The squad feels like an unpicked TV pilot that was made for greedy reasons. Jean Reno used to be good. Now he's no better than Steven Seagal. Even the action scenes sucked!
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7/10
Nice
gianmarcoronconi25 September 2023
This is not a real review, it should be taken more as a collection of impressions on the film.

This is a very classic detective story and also a very classic action film. That is, it has nothing new but nothing bad either and this results in a very normal film that is just entertaining without any pretense and aims solely at giving the viewer a good deed without asking for any kind of commitment or concentration on the part of the viewer. So in conclusion this is a very normal film to see if you want to spend some time without worries enjoying the excellent action with a typically classic detective plot.
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5/10
The pot chowder is not delicious.
yoggwork19 February 2019
There was no novelty in the gunfight between the police and the bandits. As a result, the scene was still petty, and then there was an extramarital affair. The pot chowder is not delicious.
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10/10
Ignore the Haters. Action All The Way.
DucDeRichleau20 June 2020
Oh my,when are people going to realise the aim is to be entertained for 90+ minutes when watching a film. Not bang on about this and that.The cast,story,locations etc etc.Just enjoy films for what they are, pure escapism.I bet you the haters rave about the likes of harry Potter. Get real. This film ticks all the boxes in my opinion.Then again,who I am,eh? Well,not a bitter Potter fan that's for sure.
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8/10
a stylish movie lots of action and also funny
grantkenny-1379429 June 2017
A good movie take the big moment of this movie the heist is great entertainment. legendary film actors jean reno with amazing credential in movies.Why the bad reviews here it,s a amazing action movie.If you eliminate the low Budget this could be a huge movie.The Plot line is also weak but the "big" scene and the action is great.Anyway, I suppose, based on the reviews for this movie that France won,t produce more of those movies.If you go in not expecting much you may very well enjoy this great movie. if you go in expected the action movie of the year you may be disappointed.But still a great movie
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8/10
the squad a great action movie
playtoyer19 August 2015
The squad is a a great movie.A great action movie.The movie has great action scenes.The movie has great fight scenes.The movie has great car chase scenes.The movie is also funny the movie has lot,s of funny moments.The movie has a great cast a lot of Young actors.the movie is a remake of the movie the sweeney.The story is similar to the movie heat.the director did a great job directing the action scenes all the action scenes are great.jean reno is great in this movie.It,s one of it,s best action movies with león the professional nikita crimson rivers ronin.It,s great that jean reno is back in action movies he is great is those movies.He should make more action movies.jean reno is a great actor.
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8/10
An impressive French action cop movie
OMTR16 October 2021
With intense street fight scenes in the heart of Paris.

The only bad point is excessive tobacco imagery, even though it doesn't add anything to the film itself.
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8/10
Some good old fun, ended too soon !
melvynswingler21 October 2023
Watched it in French, best one liners I've heard in a while that got me laughing out loud and probably waking the neighbours. Great fight scenes, up there with the John Wick's and the Kingsman in terms of stunt coordination, prop use and a very unique fighting style. A lot of it is typical of a French movie with adultery without making it too cliché. Some of the characters deserve an origin story movie and the movie itself deserves a sequel. Overall very happy with the « Parisian spec » cops and robbers. Very much a From Paris with love (2010) action movie, this time rightfully, as the locals take the spotlight.
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