Movie Review: Le guetteur (a.k.a. The Lookout)

Le guetteur (a.k.a. The Lookout or Sniper) 

Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Mathieu Kassovitz, Olivier Gourmet,  Francis Renaud, Nicolas Briançon, Jérôme Pouly, Violante Placido, Luca Argentero, Arly Jover, Christian Hecq 

Director: Michele Placido 

Babe Film, Ran Entertainment, Climax Films, France, Belgium, Italy, 2012. 

Commissioner Mattei (Daniel Auteuil) gets a hint about upcoming bank robbery. The police ambush the robbers but a masked sniper Vincent Kaminski (Mathieu Kassovitz) shoots at the police and helps the robbers escape. The police start a hunt. One of the robbers Nico (Luca Argentero) was wounded and the robbers take him to surgeon Franck (Olivier Gourmet). 

Vincent Kaminski being interrogated

Heist does not go as planned

Mysterious sniper appears

Awaiting until Nico recovers, Vincent hides the loot. Then Vincent is betrayed and arrested. Vincent's lawyer and his old girlfriend Kathy (Arly Jover) tells him about a plan to bust him out the prison. Then someone starts brutally killing Vincent's friends. After escaping Vincent sets out for revenge. To make things complicated Mattei's son served in Vincent's Secret Defense unit in Afghanistan and was killed in unclear circumstances.

Commissioner Mattei

Dr Franck

After an shoot-out in the beginning the movie takes a turn from heist thriller to hunt for serial killer. Vincent is an anti-hero who acts according his own moral-code. When hunting the serial killer and Vincent, also Mattei has to step into gray moral area. 

Oh, Paris

Mattei is trying  some sniping also

The idea of putting two French superstars Auteuil and Kassovitz against each other is similar to Heat with De Niro and Pacino. However the movie mixes almost too many coincidences and subplots. However even with the flaws and unevenness the movie is a decent thriller. The photography is good and clinical with cold colour filters. The cool, emotionless style reminds of old French crime films (for example Melville's Le cercle rouge that also had a commissioner named Mattei!). 

Rating: Average