good back-story, and good acting

Expected more

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

This is my favorite film.No way do I think it's the BEST film (although it would be on my Top 100)But the older I get, the more GRISBI speaks to me, with its portrait of aging, friendship, subculture...And it touches me - down deep.I went back and purchased DVDs of some of the great Gabin films of the '30s: Pépé le Moko, Le Jour Se Lève, La Bête Humaine. I believe that the more you know how beautiful and feral Gabin was in the '30s, the more touching it is to see him in his pajamas, brushing his teeth, listening to his favorite harmonica record.There are millions of "One Last Heist" films if we want to talk about GENRE.But this film is on a whole other level.Max/Gabin is exhausted, but this is the only life he knows. He plays the game - flirting, love making, slapping, shooting, escaping...He's still spry - he can still do it. Sometimes he still even seems to enjoy it.The film is about what it's about, but it can also be seen as an analogy for many things. Gabin himself still doing it, not least of all.We all have to keep doing it when it's the only life we know.Another cliché: sex is rushed and provisional, and the real love exists between two men.But Becker lavishes so much detail and care on the relationship between Max and his friend Riton that the clichés are transcended.Besides, the relationship between Max and Riton is also based on an inequality. There is a constant assertion of Max's superiority and dominance over Riton:"What would you do in my place, Max?""I'll never be in your place, you poor sot!"Is sex, in fact, no more than just another DUTY, just another part of the construction of the Tough Guy persona for Max? Look at the scene where he has his afternoon assignation with his classy yet sexy American lover:(she,from the bedroom) "Vous m'aimez, Max?" (he,outside the bedroom,thinks of Riton,lights a cigarette)"J'arrive..." (he walks back in)The economy. The derision.The film ends with the kind of fatalistic trope that I, rightly or wrongly, associate with The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. At least I guess that was the first place where I really encountered it. Everything is risked. Everything is lost.It has been done. Before and since. But none of that changes the poignancy and power of the way that it's done here.In the end, in order to keep going in spite of all sorts of losses, Max must continue to perform. All of his roles. A virtuoso performance, in the end as in the beginning. He goes to the mob hangout restaurant with the American babe, he mingles,he plays his favorite harmonica tune on the jukebox one more time.La Vie ContinueA virtuoso performance by Max AND by Gabin. And by Jacques Becker.

As Truffaut stated, this is really more a film about friendship and aging than about gangsters.Jean Gabin is brilliant as Max, the elegant, dignified underworld leader who is growing tired, and wants to retire quietly off his last score. This is a film that lives in the brilliant human details. We never see the big heist itself – it's already over when the film starts. But we do see Gabin brushing his teeth, looking at the bags under his eyes in the mirror, etc. Now it's all about finding a way to close the books on a career, and still protect his best friend and colleague, who becomes a target when other mobsters want to get their hands on the take.The story itself could be called thin, but Becker fills it with so many telling human moments and details that I was touched and involved. Yes, there were a few places where the plot, logic, or motivation holes bugged me just a touch. However, I suspect I'll warm to this even further on a eagerly anticipated second viewing.

This masterpiece of French noir exemplifies the depth of friendship and honor between thieves in this classic. The protagonist and his partner could not be more different, but through the years they have developed a friendship beyond mere love, a friendship cemented in the trenches of criminal warfare and not to be trifled with. The plot's treachery is utilized to effect as the polar opposite of this eternal bond, a bond which is best elucidated with some of the more mundane aspects of life. This bond is also compared with the superficial love between the sexes, where men love their woman only during the act of love. The acting was sublime, with heavies Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, as well as some mightily proportioned women to grace the eyes. The direction and camera work were wonderful, and the score was the perfect compliment to the darker side of life. Genruk' Evil Eye Reviews

I feel so inadequate even attempting to discuss this movie. But I'll give it a try. For those who haven't seen Touchez pas au grisbi, it's the story of an aging gangster named Max (played to perfection by Jean Gabin). With the help of his partner Riton (also played to perfection by René Dary), Max has just pulled off the biggest caper of his career and is now set to retire. But a few of the other local thugs have other ideas. They kidnap Riton and offer to a trade him for the loot.While that may be the five sentence review of the plot's highlights, the robbery and subsequent kidnapping are hardly what the movie is all about. These are merely devices to push the plot along. Instead, Touchez pas au grisbi is about the never ending friendship between two people. It's about willing to forfeit a fortune if it means saving your best friend. It's about their day-to-day lives, the nightclubs they visit, the women they use, and, in one of the more bizarre moments, even their dental hygiene habits. While it hardly sounds glamorous, it's one of the more compelling movies I've seen recently. Max's life pulled me in to the point that it almost seemed real. Director Jacques Becker lets the viewer really get to know these two guys so that later on when the pair finds themselves in danger, we feel for them.Touchez pas au grisbi may not be action-packed, but when the violence does come, it's jolting in its abruptness. While the shootout near the end of the film is an obvious example, there's a moment earlier on in the movie that shows how abrupt and effective the violence in Touchez pas au grisbi is. Max has located Riton's girlfriend who he believes to be at least partially responsible for Riton's kidnapping. Up to this point, with a few very minor and brief exceptions, Max has hardly seemed capable of excessive violence. Up to this point, he's come across almost as a kindly Grandfather. But when Max confronts the girlfriend, we see what he is capable of. The rough manner in which he handles everyone in the room, including repeatedly slapping the girl to get the information he's after, is quite shocking. It's a scene that's very nicely done.In the end, Touchez pas au grisbi is a true masterpiece that deserves all the accolades it has received. I know it's one of the best movies I've ever seen.