Lost Bullet

Lost Bullet follows small-time delinquent Lino (Alban Lenoir) as he’s drawn into a conspiracy involving dirty cops and violent criminals, with the narrative generally detailing Lino’s efforts at taking down the dirty police officer (Nicolas Duvauchelle’s Areski) responsible for his mentor’s death. Filmmaker Guillaume Pierret kicks Lost Bullet off with a ludicrous yet thoroughly entertaining pre-credits sequence revolving around Lino’s almost comically inept efforts at robbing a small jewelry store, with the picture, past that point, seguing into a distressingly uninvolving and exposition-heavy first act that slowly-but-surely drains the viewer’s interest. (It doesn’t help, certainly, that this portion of the proceedings is entirely lacking in action or thrills.) There’s little doubt, then, that Lost Bullet bounces back with a vengeance somewhere around the one-third mark, as Pierret offers up a fantastic and thoroughly electrifying sequence in which Lino essentially punches his way out of a busy police station – with that appreciatively over-the-top set-piece paving the way for a second half that’s been peppered with stirring, spellbinding bits of broadly-conceived violence. And although the film’s finale doesn’t pack the visceral punch that one might’ve anticipated (eg an expected battle simply doesn’t occur), Lost Bullet nevertheless (and for the most part) comes off as a superior actioner that hopefully bodes well for Pierret’s future endeavors within the genre.

***1/2 out of ****