Armed with enough popcorn to feed a family of four, and securing seats bang in the middle of the screen in Movie House Cinema, Belfast, the husband and I got ready for a ‘Luther’ fix.
It was immediately apparent, however, that CIA agent Sean Briar is no John Luther. The gruff English accent is gone in favour of a clipped American one. That coat is gone, replaced by an edgy blue jacket and whilst Luther is up for a good chase through the streets of London, Agent Briar seems to have a whole new level of fighting skills. Whilst the film lacked John Luther, it had Idris Elba and as a consequence this was one adrenalin-fuelled and action packed adventure.
Bastille Day, as the name would suggest, takes place in Paris on the lead up to the national Bastille Day celebrations. Richard Madden, of Game of Thrones fame, plays professional pickpocket Michael Mason. After he spots a girl leave her bag unattended, he is quick to swipe it; what he does not know is that inside the bag is a bomb. When it explodes after he throws it away, he soon becomes the face of this terrorist style bombing. With the law chasing him, he soon crosses paths with a very persistent Agent Briar. Whilst Mason wants to clear his name, Briar wants to stop the bombers before they strike again, and so they team up to find out who the real culprits are and stop them before they throw the city into further chaos.
Whilst the story might have sounded a tad ridiculous, I LOVED this film. I am a huge fan of action films and as Briar chased Mason across the rooftops of Paris, I knew this was totally my kind of movie. Both of the film’s leads give very strong performances; Elba excels as a lone wolf who threw out the cop rulebook a long time ago whilst Madden is effortlessly charming as the criminal you can’t help but have a soft spot for. The chemistry between the two is superb, the back and forth banter between them made me chuckle on several occasions. My favourite line from the movie is undoubtably when Briar questions Mason why he would run if he was innocent to which Mason replies: “Because you were coming after me. Have you seen yourself?” Fair point indeed.
As the film credits rolled there was three things that stood out to me:
1. Bastille Day was a fabulously entertaining film.
2. It is not John Luther I love, it is Idris Elba: no matter the role he portrays, from Stringer Bell in The Wire to John Luther and now Sean Briar, he always kicks ass.
3. When I thought I couldn’t love him any more, the closing track by Norman Cook, featuring the distinctive vocals of Idris Elba, blew my mind. ‘The Road Less Travelled’ is cool on so many levels. I dare you not to want to listen to it again once you leave the cinema – I have had it on a continuous loop ever since.
LittleBurch 