It's the story of gangster Jacques Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) from 1959 to becoming known as Pubic Enemy #1 in 1972. In 1959, he's a French soldier forced to kill a prisoner. Upon his return, he and his friend Paul start robbing and working for gangster Guido (Gérard Depardieu). He marries Sofia (Elena Anaya) and have a family. He gets imprisoned. He's struggling with his marriage. He finds a fellow criminal soul in Jeanne Schneider (Cécile De France). They rob a mob casino and leave for Montreal. In 1968, he befriends FLQ member Jean-Paul Mercier (Roy Dupuis). Mesrine and Schneider are arrested in Arizona and extradited back to Quebec as the new Bonnie and Clyde. In prison, Mesrine, Mercier, and others make an escape and go on a crime rampage.

This semi-biopic has so much material to go through. It's an epic that deserves six seasons of big-time violent brutal crime TV drama. This two hour movie feels compressed into a highlight reel of the his gleeful descend. Vincent Cassel is terrific. He's able to maintain the focus with the rotating cast of characters. It needs focus in terms of story but it's a very compelling character.

I guess if you're really looking for weak points of this movie, than you can find a few. First of, it's a two-parter and has an ending, that leaves you with almost nothing ... Except the desire to want to watch the second part. Then there is always the fine line, that movies like that are almost always more likely to be enjoyed at home, instead of the cinema.

And last but not least, if you are not aware of the real life character that Vincent Cassel is portraying (I wasn't),than the movie itself will spoil quite a bit for you ... On the other hand, you will only get bits and a few glances of some very interesting characters. Which could be kind of a shame, especially considering the A-List cast that gets assembled here (even in small/minor roles).

But if you can overlook all those things and are ready to watch the second part right away, then you will have a great thriller that you can enjoy (great performances included).

This, the first of two films, follows the career of infamous French criminal Jacques Mesrine from the time he leaves the army till shortly after he escapes from prison in Quebec. After leaving the army his friend Paul gets him started in his life of crime; at first it is house breaking but it isn't long before the crimes escalate in both ambition and violence. On a trip to Spain he gets a girl pregnant and ends up marrying her; their marriage is rocky but they stick together; when she finally realises she can't persuade him to leave the life of crime she decides to join him. After robbing the wrong establishment they find themselves wanted by both the law and certain criminals so leave the country; heading for Montreal. Here they get honest jobs working for a wealthy man but after he fires them they kidnap him. When he escapes they flee to America but are extradited back to Canada where they are sent to prison. The conditions in the prison Jacques is sent to are particularly harsh but he comes up with a plan to escape. He and a Canadian friend manage to escape but rather than lying low or fleeing the country they start robbing banks then return to the gaol and attempt to help other prisoners escape; getting injured in the process. After that they are Canada's Number One most wanted people… to find out what happens next the viewer must watch the next film.

Before watching this I hadn't heard of Jacques Mesrine but I am glad that I knew it was a true story as some of the events portray would have seemed too far fetched in a work of fiction! Who would expect somebody who escaped from an 'escape proof' prison to return to lead a two man armed assault on the facility! While it isn't gratuitous there is quite a lot of violence in the film; much of it fairly brutal and shocking but glamorised. Much of the strength of the film is down to Vincent Cassel's excellent portrayal of Mesrine; he might not look like a stereotypical movie gangster but he brought an intensity to the role that made him believable. He is ably supported by Cécile De France who played his wife Jeanne and Gérard Depardieu who played his boss Guido. While this isn't always comfortable viewing I'd certainly recommend it to anybody who likes crime drama… having seen part one I'm certainly looking forward to watching part two to see what happens next.