The Film: After his somewhat successful action-thriller Le Baiser mortel du dragon a.k.a Kiss of the Dragon (2001) French director Chris Nahon is back with yet another fast-paced production this time around relying on the enigmatic Moroccan Jean Reno whose career as it seems is in a state of free falling. A strange copycat of a film which gravitates around the idea of being both original and as mainstream as possible Nahon's latest named simply L'Empire des Loups a.k.a Empire of the Wolves (2005) offers more plot-holes than a piece of Swiss cheese.

Uniting the French critics who quickly dismissed this film as one of the lowest points in Reno's career Empire of the Wolves is indeed one stunningly unimpressive production which lacks not only style but a decent story as well. Following a brutal killer who is meticulously terrorizing a district of Paris known as the Little Turkey where tens of thousands of illegal Turkish immigrants reside Chris Nahon has cooked up one big, fat, and quite tasteless turkey.
Mixing up politics, espionage, and Hollywood-esque explosions which have no relevance to the main story/stories whatsoever Empire of the Wolves tested even my tolerance for action-packed features which is not that great to begin with. Nevertheless, I am simply amazed that anyone, let alone Jean Reno, would actually consider involvement in such a tasteless mish-mash as what Nahon's film offers is flat-out insulting.

I don't quite know how to describe the plot of Empire of the Wolves so you could get an accurate idea how bad this film is. Suffice to say (I think) the film relies on two separate stories gravitating around a mysterious girl suffering from the now cliché Hollywood-amnesia (a lack of memory which typically involves a secret agent or someone with a substantial knowledge in espionage) and the Turkish extreme-right formation known as the Grey Wolves. The result as you might guess is a poor copycat who borrows from the Crimson Rivers (2000) and The Bourne Identity (2002) all the way down to Ronin (1998) and Nikita (1990).

I am unsure how low Jean Reno would fall before we see him back in top form. I certainly feel quite disappointed with his latest films as he is easily one of the most unique actors to come out of France in the last 20 years. His style is impeccable, or perhaps I should say was impeccable, and I miss the enigmatic Moroccan sincerely. Hopefully his upcoming projects with Italian comedian Roberto Benigni (The Tiger and the Snow) and perhaps the more eagerly anticipated The Da Vinchi Code directed by Ron Howard will somehow redeem his badly hurt reputation.

As to Chris Nahon and his adaptation of Jean Christoph Grange's book, well, I hope he forgets about this unfortunate mess as quickly as possible and moves on with his life focusing on something more productive. After all bad films could be a good learning resource for those who have the needed intelligence to realize that a few quickly scribbled lines, even if inspired by a famous novel, do not necessarily equate a blockbuster material.

How Does the Film Look?

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and enhanced for widescreen TV's the image looks sharp, with excellent colors and contrast, and exhibits absolutely no print damage whatsoever. Aside from a few minor examples of edge enhancement this is one strikingly beautiful transfer. The only major complaint I have with this release is the inclusion of the annoying rather large yellow subtitles which Sony seems to currently favor.

How Does the DVD Sound?

Presented with a French 5.1 track and optional 5.1 English dub Empire of the Wolves sounds quite good. The sound is well mixed as the surround speakers get plenty of workout and the quality of the 5.1 track is indeed impressive. Given the large amount of explosions and action-packed scenes however it would have been nice if the R1 release had retained the French DTS track from the French release. Regardless, the audio presentation is more than satisfying.

Extras:

Aside from a few trailers for other upcoming Sony releases there is absolutely nothing to be found on this DVD whatsoever.

Final Words:

I suppose the French critics got it right this time around…Empire of the Wolves is indeed one disastrous attempt in filmmaking which I hope people will forget quickly. While I am sad to see the always charming Reno participating in this snooze-fest I am somewhat relieved that we might have seen the worst. It is all uphill now… For the sake of Reno fans: RENT IT!!