Bastille Day Movie Review, A Pickpocket Action with a CIA Agent

Terrorism and bombings are terrible events that can wreak havoc in a country. Especially if the act of terror is carried out at the wrong address because of the appearance of a pickpocket, like in the story in the film Bastille Day or in its other title, The Take. How did the terror incident go wrong, and how did the pickpocket clear his name? You can read the review of the Bastille Day movie below.

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Synopsis Bastille Day Movie

The Bastille Day film takes place in France, where a group of terrorists plans to detonate a bomb in an empty building to start terror.

A woman named Zoe is tasked with delivering the bomb. But when she got to the building, Zoe changed her mind because she saw that there were still some cleaners there. Zoe called her partner and said she would throw the bomb into the river. At that time, a pickpocket named Michael noticed him and was interested in the bag Zoe was holding. Michael also stole the bag. When he opened it, he saw only a doll, so he threw it in the trash. But a few seconds later, there was an explosion that emerged from the bag and the doll.

Bastille Day Movie

The incident killed four people and created a furor ahead of the Bastille Day event, which is a major parade to mark the French city’s anniversary. Michael, who is an immigrant from America, is suspected because his face appears on the CCTV. He also tried to hide. Hearing this, the CIA intervened without informing France.

They sent one of their agents, Briar, who had a poor record on previous missions. The CIA only assigns Briar (Idris Elba) to secure Michael, who is an American citizen. Briar also managed to catch Michael and interrogate him. Briar finally found out that Michael was just a pickpocket, not part of the terrorists.

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Meanwhile, the terrorist group is now hunting for Michael, so Briar and Michael must run away from them. In order to clear Michael’s name, the two of them searched for a woman whose bag Michael had stolen.

The CIA has warned Briar not to get too involved, but Briar and Michael carry out their mission anyway.

Bastille Day Movie

Synopsis Bastille Day Movie : Terror also looking for Zoe

The terror group is also looking for Zoe, who is now trying to escape. They also continued to carry out their terror missions and pit the government against the people until waves of demonstrations began to emerge. After going through the chase, Briar and Michael finally managed to catch Zoe, who then joined their side.

The three of them then succeeded in uncovering the fact that the terrorist act was masterminded by the police, who were part of the French government. Briar also reports to his boss, Karen. Knowing this, Karen warns Briar not to interfere. He would cooperate and pass the information on to French intelligence in exchange for saving the three.

However, Karen, who reported this, was actually killed by a high-ranking French intelligence officer, Victor. Apparently, it was Victor who was the mastermind behind the terrorist group. Briar, Michael, and Zoe, who were almost caught, finally manage to escape and plan to solve the case themselves. While Victor and his group are getting closer to their final mission.

Bastille Day Movie

Bastille Day Movie : Briar manages to thwart Rafi’s Robbery

They directed the public to demonstrate in front of the Bank of France. While Victor pretended to bring down all the police officers to guard the bank. In fact, his gang, led by Rafi, tried to break into the safe in the bank to take all the money there.

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Briar, assisted by Michael and Zoe, manages to thwart Rafi’s robbery. Victor, who was afraid that his role would be revealed, finally sacrificed Rafi by ordering his other men to shoot him. Meanwhile, a flash drive containing digital money was stolen by Michael. But it was known to Victor.

The next day, Victor asked Michael to meet him. He offers to exchange the flash drive for a fake passport so Michael can escape France freely. Michael pretended to agree, but behind him, Briar was already stalking them. With the strategy they had planned, Victor was caught red-handed and finally paralyzed by the police.

Bastille Day Movie

Full of thrilling action scenes

Lifting the action genre, the film Bastille Day will indeed spoil you, lovers of action films. Throughout the duration of the 92-minute film, we will see lots of chase scenes and shootings that are quite tense. Cinematography during action scenes often uses the shaking camera technique, where the camera is shaken and unstable.

With this technique, we as spectators seem to be directly following the chase scene and running with the characters. For example, during the scene where Briar chases Michael at the beginning of their meeting, it will make you furious when you witness this chase.

Unexplored Main Characters

Since the beginning of the film, the main character Michael, played by actor Richard Madden, has attracted quite a bit of attention. The premise of an American immigrant living in France and having pickpocketing skills is certainly a unique one. Moreover, with the way of pickpocketing Michael, who seemed above average compared to other pickpockets,

Of course, we as spectators want to see what kind of role Michael, as the protagonist, plays when he takes part in resolving this terrorism case masterminded by corrupt police in France. But from the middle to the end of the film, this main character actually feels less explored. It feels like the audience’s focus is only on the other main character, namely Briar, played by Idris Elba.

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Even though Michael’s portrayal as a pickpocket with above-average skills has made us curious, But after that, his character only feels like a supporting one.

The End of the Film That Doesn’t Feel Climax

The storyline of the film Bastille Day looks exciting from the beginning to the middle of the film. At the end of the film, we can’t see the climax of all the events that happened. You could even say the ending of this film feels quite cliffhanger-like and seems unfinished. I don’t know if this is because there is a separate intention from the filmmaker or if the end of this film is really an anticlimax.

There is no conclusion from the initial conflict regarding the character of Michael the pickpocket, who wants to clear his name as a suspected terrorist. Likewise, Victor’s arrest scene feels less exciting, even though he is described as the mastermind behind all the terror events that occur throughout the film.

That’s a review of the Bastille Day Movie or The Take, which tells about the action of a pickpocket with a CIA agent to stop a bomb terror in a French city. Even though there are some elements that are less than perfect, this film is still fun, right?