AKA (2023 release from France; 118 min) brings the story of Adam Franco, an undercover special opps guy who is afraid of nothing or nobody. The French Minister of the Interior's chief of staff orders Franco to infiltrate a criminal gang in order to track down the whereabouts of a bombing suspect.... At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the movie.
Couple of comments: this is the feature length directing debut of Morgan Dalibert, previously a well-known cinematographer. Dalibert co-wrote the script along with Alban Lenoir, the erstwhile stunt man-turned-actor who plays the role of Adam Franco. These two know each other well, having collaborated on "Lost Bullet". Here they bring a gritty crime drama. I must admit that based on the film's opening sequence, I was expecting something more glamorous, but once the story really got goin, I found myself fully invested. Let me be very clear, tough: this is a very violent movie, and the body count is off the chart, so if that is not your thing, please find something else to watch. Eric Cantona alert! Yes, the French soccer star from the 1990s who played for Manchester United for 5 years, has continued to build a very nice acting career after retiring from football. Here he plays the head of the criminal gang, one of the pivotal roles in this film. Bottom line: my expectations were surpassed with this movie, and these 2 hours just flew by.
AKA started streaming on Netflix just last weekend, and I watched it last night. If you like a crime drama that is gritty and violent, yet that is also wildly entertaining with solid performances all around, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.
