Nos amis les flics (2004) - film review

When five small-time crooks led by Frédo mess up a potentially lucrative hold-up, gangster boss Toussaint is not pleased.  He offers them one last chance to redeem themselves.  They have 24 hours to steal a collection of paintings from a modern art gallery.  Unfortunately, the gallery is protected by the most up-to-date alarm system money can buy.  It’s not long before things go wrong for the hapless five – aided and abetted by Frédo’s crooked girlfriend Magali.  To save the situation, they end up having to pose as police officers.  Then their problems really begin…

Nos amis les flics is an unexpected departure for Bob Swaim, the director who is best known for the stylish 1980s detective thriller La Balance (1982).  It’s a fast-moving blend of comedy and action thriller which, whilst not wholly original, does supply a fare quota of laughs.  The film features Frédéric Diefenthal, better known as Émilien in the hugely popular Taxi films, and Daniel Auteuil, who makes a surprisingly sinister gangster villain.  With the complicity of a talented cast and production team, Swaim successfully combines all the familiar thriller motifs with knockabout comic book antics, making this an entertaining, laugh-a-minute romp.

© James Travers 2007

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