The Empire of the Wolves

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you crossed Total Recall with The Bourne Identity and filtered them through the sensibility of The Crimson Rivers, look no further than The Empire of the Wolves for the answer. With its incoherent storyline and severely overlong running time, the film – which actually starts out with some promise – eventually becomes a tedious and unfocused mess. Jean Reno stars as a grizzled ex-cop (ie he says things like, “to fight evil, you gotta taste it”) who teams up with an idealistic police officer after three women are sadistically murdered by a serial killer. But that’s merely a subplot to a far less interesting story revolving around Anna’s (Arly Jover) memory loss and the sinister forces that may or may not be behind it. Director Chris Nahon (Kiss of the Dragon) initially elevates the proceedings with heavily stylized visuals, but the script’s convoluted nature – coupled with a severe case of overlength – eventually transforms the film into a surprisingly tedious piece of work. And though there are a few effective moments here and there (most of which involve Reno’s brutal interrogation tactics), The Empire of the Wolves isn’t nearly as much fun as one imagines it’s supposed to be.

** out of ****