Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

22 Bullets Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 4, 2011

Gallic director Richard Berry's "L'immortel" a.k.a "22 Bullets" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Canadian distributors Entertainment One Films Canada Inc. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original French theatrical trailer; audio commentary by director Richard Berry; and a standard making of featurette. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Charly Mattei

Jean Reno is Charly Mattei, an aging crime boss living with his family in the beautiful city of Marseilles. Less than ten minutes into the film he is gunned down in an underground parking lot by a group of masked assassins. One of the assassins also blasts Mattei's favorite puppy.

Mattei is transported to a nearby hospital where the doctors take 22 bullets from his body. Somehow he escapes death and begins to recuperate. Eventually, he regains his ability to speak. One of the first people to visit him in the hospital is Tony Zacchia (Kad Merad. Les irréductibles, Safari), also a crime a boss. Mattei and Zacchia go back a long way. Zacchia vows to find out who’s behind the attack on Mattei and put him in a coffin. A couple of days later, someone attempts to kill Mattei in the hospital.

Fastforward. Mattei gets out and does a little bit of research on his own. He quickly discovers that it is Zacchia who wants him dead. One of Mattei's best men, Karim (Moussa Maaskri, Comme les cinq doigts de la main, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec), urges him to declare war on Zacchia and kill him before he does. While Mattei is trying to make up his mind, police Detective Marie Goldman (Marina Fois, Un coeur simple) goes after him.

Things get out of control when Karim is killed and his body fed to a few of Zacchia's dogs. Mattei vows to track down and kill every single one of the men who fired at him in the underground parking lot, as well as his old friend, Zacchia.

There is no groundbreaking material in Richard Berry’s revenge thriller L'immortel (distributed in various English-speaking territories under the alternative title 22 Bullets). Right from the get-go it is made perfectly clear in what direction the story will be heading, and with the exception of a couple of interesting twists, there are absolutely no surprises.

Nevertheless, L'immortel is a genuinely entertaining film. Though looking slightly overweight, Reno is back in form, looking terrific as the aging crime boss who has to confront various men he has trusted in the past. He rarely speaks but his wrinkled face tells us everything we need to know about him - which is why Berry’s camera spends a great deal of time studying it.

There are various strong secondary characters who add plenty of color to the film. Merad's paranoid gangster who has broken old promises looks sharp, though his violent outbursts are a bit over the top. His wedding speech, however, is very good.

Fois is also convincing as the alcoholic cop looking for answers. Like Mattei, she also has a good reason to dislike Zacchia, who has irreversibly damaged her life. Her reaction to a rather strange request at the end of the film is unbelievable but not surprising.

The production values are first-rate, with cinematographer Thomas Hardmeier (The Black Box, Chrysalis) lensing amongst the key reasons why L'immortel impresses – the various panoramic vistas from Marseilles are top-notch and the fast action scene excellent. Camille Delamarre's (Transporter 3) editing is also competent.

Note: Last year, L'immortel was screened at the Edinburgh Film Festival and Hamburg Fantasy Filmfest in Germany.

22 Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Richard Berry's L'immortel (a.k.a 22 Bullets) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One Films Canada Inc.

Much, much better. This is what the Anchor Bay-UK release should have looked like. First, the film is presented in its original aspect ratio, which, obviously, makes an enormous difference. Second, this high-definition transfer is practically identical to the one EuropaCorp used for their Blu-ray release of L'immortel in France - the only minor difference I could spot pertains to brightness levels; the French transfer looks just s tiny bit darker. Detail is excellent, clarity very pleasing and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme also appears to be identical to that of the French release (I've taken a couple of screencaptures that you could compare). Furthermore, edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. Even the darker scenes look wonderfully detailed and crisp (the footage from the underground garage, for instance, look excellent). I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction. There are no heavy artifacts and aliasing patterns either. Lastly, I did not see any purely transfer related anomalies to report in this review. All in all, this is a solid presentation that should make a lot of people residing in Region-A territories very happy. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. Please note that the disc's main menu can be set in English or French).

22 Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Entertainment One Films Canada Inc. have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. The English subtitles are yellow. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has exactly the same dynamic characteristics as the loseless audio tracks found on the French and UK Blu-ray releases of L'immortel. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels very active and intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. The execution scenes in the underground garage, for instance, sounds terrific. The various opera excerpts are also lovely. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. Finally, there are absolutely no pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

22 Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of - a standard featurette with footage from the film and various commentaries by cast and crew members. In French, not subtitled. (26 min, 480/60i).

• Commentary - an audio commentary by director Richard Berry. With footage from the shooting of the film (which appeared on the French Blu-ray release as PiP option). In French, not subtitled. (108 min, 480/60i).

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for L'immortel. In French, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080/60i).

• Trailers - trailers for other Entertainment One Films Canada Inc. productions.

22 Bullets Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This Canadian Blu-ray release of Richard Berry's L'immortel, produced by Entertainment One Films Canada Inc., is a very good alternative for people residing in Region-A territories. It is Region-Free and preserves the film's original aspect ratio. None of the supplemental features offered with it, however, are English-friendly. RECOMMENDED.