get to the chawper!

Director: Jérôme Salle

Writer: Julien Rappeneau

Starring:  Tomer Sisley, Mélanie Thierry, Kristin Scott Thomas, Miki Manojlovic

Released by: Optimum home entertainment

Comic book adaptations are a tricky business, even when the franchise in question has its underpants on the outside, or the proportional strength of a spider. So consider the troubles of a little known Belgian comic book series, which surfaced briefly in the national consciousness eight years ago, following a mediocre computer game spin-off.

Given the already impressive challenge of educating the British public on the intricacies of such a comic, Largo Winch’s  task is made all the more arduous by its own numerous shortcomings, including a baffling plot and a terribly confused sense of nationality.

The film tells the story of Largo Winch (Sisley), the estranged adoptive son of Nerio Winch (Miki Manojlovic), the CEO of a massive corporation who dies in the opening reels, leaving his fortune and company to Largo (who was given by Nerio to a second foster family to keep him a secret). Despite being twice adopted, Winch is nothing if not loyal to Nerio, and attempts to unravel the mystery behind his dad’s death, as well as battling a looming takeover bid that the company faces.

Released in France almost two years ago, the movie is eschewing cinemas and heading straight to DVD when it lands in the UK in the coming weeks – an unsurprising move given the headspinning range of languages spoken throughout the film.

With subtitled films struggling to see mainstream release at the best of times in the UK, Largo Winch switches awkwardly between no less than three languages (French, Croatian and perfect English) for no readily apparent reason, clumsily emphasising key scenes of drama with a sudden swap to another language.

Winch himself speaks all three as he barricades through a dense layer of twists in order to unearth the truth behind his father’s untimely death. While the first are intelligent, later developments seem to double-back on the original revelations, leaving a quagmire of questions (in three languages) to which Largo perpetually knows the answers, although how he arrived at them is anyone’s guess.

Letting Largo lead the way wouldn’t be a problem if the journey was fun, but Salle’s film feels at all times like a Bond film without the cocked eyebrow. Winch can fight, drive and seduce with the best of ‘em, but Largo Winch is marred by how seriously it takes itself, bogging audiences down in dull details of the intricacies of company finance around which the corporate takeover plot is precariously balanced, and some frankly baffling flashbacks that do little to make Winch’s confused upbringing any clearer.

Given the loopy premise, Largo Winch could have been an enjoyably silly slice of action, or a spoofy corporate thriller. Unfortunately, it’s neither. Marred by a sloppy plot, confusing flashbacks and language changes, the film falls apart under its own weight, and has little fun while it does it.

Largo Winch – Deadly Revenge is out on DVD August 23^rd

Phil Reynolds