Masterful Movie

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Alain Delon turns in a stylish caper film here, one that could have come from René Clément's script drawer. I liked the intimate tone of the story, the way François Périer almost adopts Delon as his son, even giving him his mistress, Anne Parillaud. There is not much in the way of violence, which suits me fine.The performances are generally good. Périer is oily and treacherous as Ruggeri, the club owner, Pierre Mondy has an easy time with the detective role, and Anne Parillaud is superb as the sexy assistant-turned-mistress. At two hours, though, the film is a bit long.

Okay, I won't tell you the story, just warn you about the avalanche of clichés in this film.Well directed, Alain Delon was a good actor; as a director and producer, I just hope he did not take his stuff seriously. From the girl who can't keep her dress on for five minutes to the Colombo-style commissary, from the sped-up car chases to the horribly banal one and only musical theme, the only way to enjoy this flick is to laugh it through.Speaking of music, one thing for sure: Delon has no taste whatsoever in that area. I wonder what Michel Colombier's job was here (he is credited for "music coordination" or something). This is not the first instance where Delon-as-director wears out the same theme over and over throughout a film. In "Pour la peau d'un flic", a certain Bensonhurst Blues is randomly cued in and out for two hours. I jumped on my seat when I saw this tune credited at the beginning of the movie. About an hour and a half through it, two bad guys turn on their car radio; you can hear the said blues for half a second (enough to recognize it if you've heard it for two hours the week before and have anxiously been waiting for it for 90 minutes) and one of the goons exclaims: "Ah non! merde!" before switching the station to a Mozart concerto. That's it for Bensonhurst this time. This is, sad to say, the best moment in the film.

...could have been much better if the director (Alain Delon) can handle the atmosphere of the film. I mean...There is no atmosphere in the movie and that's the single problem with Le Battant. Otherwise it's a pretty good, hard boiled revenge-flick, and in some scenes reminded me Mel Gibson's little thriller called Payback. Alain Delon is cool, he's a silent murderer in this movie, he didn't give a damn about anybody, he slaps the poor girl when the situation needs it, so he's just a cold blooded killer who's only interested in his freedom and the money he deserved. The story has some twist (but nothing special), some violence, but as I said before it could have been much better.

...who directed Delon in one of his most memorable parts "Plein soleil" (1959)-the first version of "the talented MrRipley";also worthwhile was "les felins" (1964)."Le battant " has nothing to do with René Clement though.It would rather recall Henri Verneuil.The story is run of the mill diamonds chase ,diamonds which Delon hid somewhere (we will know where in the last pictures)just before he was arrested .When he's released ,a lot of people are hot on his heels ,cops and robbers as well.Mildly entertaining,because it does not lack tempo,the movie accumulates the dead bodies and a certain misogyny.Delon's sophomore effort as a director.His movie seems to belong to the precedent decade.He's only offering us diamonds and rust here,and we've already paid.