Lack of good storyline.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Blistering performances.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This movie was quite entertaining. The visuals and look of the film were quite nice...When the French get it right, NO ONE can do a film like this better (1982's 'DIVA' anyone...?) What made this film SO very effective was not only it's technical brilliance, excellent writing and story line, but also that the set design was amazing. Any Sci Fi elements were very subtle and not overwhelming. It comes across more as a SLIGHTLY futuristic Crime Thriller. Nothing overt or heavy handed; this is definitely NO STAR TREK or STAR WARS (although I very much DO appreciate those kinds of 'heavier' Sci Fi too...) Whenever Sci Fi elements are used, they are very understated and well integrated into the overall design and concept of the story.I REALLY liked the tone and look of this film; and I'm NOT one much really for French films per se : ) Most of them, especially older Classic ones, I find deliberately vague and pretentious for the most part. But this one had EVERYTHING nicely and tightly arranged and was put together in such a way so that after seeing it, you come away feeling that you just watched a DAMN good film!I also very much enjoyed the sound used in the movie. Nice touches in the background, especially the songs used during the sequences showing the various floors of the medical facility and during the virtual operation were quite effective.There really isn't much more to add except that if you don't mind reading subtitles and you like a very clever, well thought out and intriguing Crime Thriller, and you appreciate nice set design, then you should by all means find this film very fun and entertaining.

Science fiction is not a genre in which French cinema dabbles to any great extent although it does have a fine tradition of horreur as in Les Diaboliques and Les Jeux sans visage which are distant relatives of Chrysalis as both deal with death in one form or another; a death that isn't really a death on the one hand and the idea of 'rebuilding' broken bodies on the other. Here we have parallel stories. Futuristic (2020) cop David Hoffman, sees both his wife and his female partner killed in front of him and sets out to nail the two brothers responsible. At the same time a highly successful female surgeon is driving the car is which her daughter is killed and is bent on reviving her in her state-of-the- art clinic. Oh, I almost forgot, there's a machine involved and it's capable of erasing people's memories of if this were a James Bond movie SMERSH or SCEPTRE or both would be after it but we have to be content with smaller fry. There are two exceptional fist-fights (for which Dupontel insisted on doing his own fighting) of the kind that after ninety seconds tops one or both of the fighters would be dead and/or comatose but instead, natch, they keep at it for four or five minutes. Watchable but Dupontel has done far better stuff in this line, like The prey.

The opening scene of CHRYSILAS has better shoot out than anything you've scene in black hawk down or 3000 miles to Graceland. The camera angels especially the ones in the crack house will be stolen and copied b every film student for years to come. Okay where do we begin our lead hero loses his partner in a botched human trafficking raid, Leaving him the last hard boiled burned out white officer in a federal European police unit filled with multi-cultural skin heads. He Bogart's some guys and gets from one heavy-handed situation after another to find his partner killers. Although he considers himself smarter than the average bear, he's prone to the pits and pratfalls of every other human being. It was a great film glad I watched.

All connoisseurs and other snobs know that between 1960 and 1980 French cinema was miles ahead of Hollywood. Directors like Melville knew that they could not compete on special effects etcetera because of the smaller budgets. They took the only possible course: do what Hollywood doesn't dare to do. Chrysalis breaks the Hollywood conventions as well and still stands firm in the French tradition. The pale colours remind us of classics like Le Samourai; the Hoffmann character could have been played by Alain Delon in his heydays. Dialogues are minimalistic and therefor highly effective. The two story lines first are independent and gradually merge. Montage between the two is brilliant; every scene makes you longing for the next one. Only halfway the meaning of the opening scene is partly revealed; only near the end you will understand it fully. So some patience and a bigger attention span than average is demanded - and rewarded. The movie has two weak points. First of all there is the plot. Probably I am not fair, but I find it hard to accept the plots of Robocop and Terminator as well. Never will movies like that get more than 8 stars. Second I find the Hoffmann character not that convincing anymore after his "accident". Don't take my criticism too hard. Deviating from the Hollywood norm involves risks so should be praised. Chrysalis is highly entertaining and intriguing, unless you prefer the standard, brainless and predictable stuff. And never I have seen such cold scenery.