Review: action movie reminiscent of Korean action movies about redemption and revenge “Largo Winch: Wrath of the Past”

On August 29, the action adventure “Largo Winch: Wrath of the Past”, the third part of the series to be released in 13 years, will be released on Russian screens. If Jerome Sall was responsible for the first two parts, this time Olivier Masse-Depass took the director’s chair. Both are fans of the eponymous French-Belgian comic book series by Philippe Frank and Jean Van Hamme, but while the former tried to preserve the spirit of the original as much as possible, Olivier Masse-Depass decided to reflect the spirit of Jean Van Hamme. The Times touches on environmental issues, corporate struggles, the consequences of medical experiments and the exploitation of child labor. And fit everything into a two-hour movie at the same time. But first things first.

The leading actor Tomer Sisley first played the multimillionaire Largo Winch at the age of 34, now he and his hero are 50. As before, he will have to face false accusations and fight enemies who want to take his company away from him. And this time a difficult situation drags him into the jungles of Myanmar, where he will try to contact his son, but in the middle of his vacation, unknown persons kidnap the 15-year-old heir Num (Narayan David Hecter ) and Largo plans to spend all his resources to search for her. At the same time, he learns about a conspiracy within the company and realizes that the same person is behind all the problems.

At first glance, the handsome guy and the owner of the IT company Largo Winch have a lot in common with the billionaire inventor Tony Stark (they are also trying to take the company from Iron Man), but for some reason the hero does not evoke such sympathy and empathy. It would seem that the image of Largo is closer to a person than to a superhero: he does not wear magnificent armor and tights, does not try to dye his gray hair to look younger, and besides, he needs time for wounds to heal. Perhaps the fact is that he is not very interested in people’s problems: he is a hero for himself, and not for the whole world. Despite having a lot of money, he is as if indifferent to people and becomes active only when someone tries to slander him, put him behind bars or take away his fortune.

This may be the reason why the previous part failed at the box office and received mostly negative reviews from critics. It cannot be said that the first part was warmly received. An egoist is unlikely to arouse the sympathy of the audience, because everyone has their own problems: some have empty cabbage soup, others have small pearls. It seems that Olivier Masset-Depass decided to give the hero a chance and, while maintaining connections with the previous parts, actually restarted the series. If the plot remains the same, then the heroine herself develops internally. And this is largely due to the director’s introduction of a new character – blogger Bonnie (Elyse Tilloloy). Bonnie (Elyse Tilloloy) reveals how the company’s decisions to reduce costs lead to job losses and condemn thousands of people to poverty. If earlier the image of Largo seemed sugary and ideal, now she will see herself with completely different eyes – not a modern Prometheus who gives people W-Group technologies, but a predator who, although not intentionally, spoils the fate of others.

The kidnapper Numa, played by James Franco, is also driven by revenge, but his reasons will only be revealed when he is finally on the verge of death. And in this case, the sympathy of the majority will probably be on the side of the anti-hero, not Largo. The drama of their confrontation is that Largo Winch becomes more sensitive to ordinary people, whom he previously thought of while sitting in a comfortable office. For example, in one of the scenes he will forget to be careful to save a child in the mine – and this moment will be broadcast live, among others, secretly broadcast by his blogger friend Bonnie, who was initially aggressive towards him. His figure allowed Olivier Masset-Depass to talk about many social, political and environmental issues, so the story, on the one hand, becomes closer to reality, and on the other hand, a little pathetic. The actress who plays Bonnie plays with her face so much that she almost tires you with her presence in the frame. As for James Franco’s hero, his line seems to be completely inspired by the best Korean action films in the spirit of “Old Boy”, “Thirst” and “Sympathy for Lady Revenge”.

In some scenes, it seems as if the director is trying too hard to please the zoomers by juggling several topics at once, so at some point the plot seems to fall apart and turns into a propaganda monologue about everything and nothing in particular at the same time. But this does not happen, as the film remains a spectacular action movie, where plot inconsistencies are compensated by flashy stunts. By the way, it is worth noting that James Franco and Tomer Sisley perform all the stunts themselves, and there are quite a few of them.

“A knife can kill, but you can also use it to create something new. Destroying or creating is your choice,” Largo tells his son Numu. The third part of the film ends on this philosophical thought that permeates the entire plot.