Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

L' Immortel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 6, 2010

Gallic director Richard Berry's "L'immortel" a.k.a "22 Bullets" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors EuropaCorp. The supplemental features on the disc include video commentary with director Richard Berry; footage from the film's premiere in France and Q&A discussion; interviews with director Richard Berry Richard Berry, Jean Reno, Kad Merad, Marina Fois, and Jean-Pierre Darroussin; and promotional art. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

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

L' Immortel 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 arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors EuropaCorp.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is also impressive – the variety of yellows, blues, greens, browns, grays, and blacks looks exceptionally rich and well saturated. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction either. Blown through a digital projector the high-definition transfer conveys very good depth and fluidity. Lastly, I did not see any annoying flecks, scratches, marks, or stains to report in this review. All in all, L'immortel looks wonderful on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

L' Immortel 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, EuropaCorp have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio track is solid. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels very effective, and the high-frequencies not overdone. Right from the get-go you will get a taste of how strong the loseless treatment is – Mattei's execution scene will shake your house. Additionally, the dialog is always crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no balance issues with the wonderful soundtrack either (the excerpts from Tosca sound great). I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissing, or audio dropouts to report in this review.

L' Immortel 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, 1080i).

• Avant-premiere - director Richard Berry, Jean Reno, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, and Kad Merad discuss L'immortel. In French, not subtitled. (6 min, PAL).

• Projets d'affiches du film - a gallery of posters for L'immortel. (2 min, 1080i).

• Interviews - a gallery of interviews with various cast and crew members discussing the production history of L'immortel, its main characters, message, etc. In French, not subtitled.
  
  -- Richard Berry (10 min, PAL)
  -- Jean Reno (8 min, PAL)
  -- Kad Merad (14 min, PAL)
  -- Marina Fois (7 min, PAL)
  -- Jean-Pierre Darroussin (9 min, PAL)

• Video Commentary - a Picture-in-Picture commentary with Richard Berry. In French, not subtitled in English.

L' Immortel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Richard Berry's L'immortel is a solid, well paced and well acted revenge thriller that should appeal to fans of Jean Reno. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of French distributors EuropaCorp, looks and sounds terrific. It is, however, Region-B "locked", so keep that in mind if you reside in Region-A land. RECOMMENDED.