Les Morfalous
1984 Action / Comedy / War
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Credits
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Summary
In 1943, during the Second World War, a battalion of the French Foreign Legion is tasked
with the mission of removing a fortune in gold bullion from the vault of a bank in a North
African town, before it falls into the hands of the Germany army. The Legionnaires
arrives just in time to be all but wiped out by the German soldiers who surround the town.
Only three of them survive: Sergeant Augagneur, Adjutant Mahuzard and Boissier.
With the help of a cowardly artillery man, Béral, the Legionnaires manage to defeat
the Germans, but instead of fulfilling their mission as planned, Augagneur has other plans
for the gold bullion…
Review
Les Morfalous marks the end of a twenty-five
year association between two pre-eminent figures in French cinema from the 1960s –
director Henri Verneuil and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. It was their eighth collaboration,
and yet another attempt at a blockbuster in the unashamedly American style.
Whilst the film does have some good jokes (some however in very, very bad taste), and
the action stunts are impressive (albeit more Grand Guignol than realistic), the script
is weak and the grey-haired Belmondo not too convincing as an action hero. The moral
ambiguity of Belmondo’s character is also unsatisfying and it is next to impossible
to find anything to like in his portrayal of a crude, self-serving Legionnaire.
Jacques Villeret and Michel Constantin come off far better, both having sympathetic roles
and a decent share of the best jokes. Verneuil makes the best of the material he
has at his disposal and, whilst clearly not his best film, it does just about pass for
entertainment.
© James Travers 2005 Write a review for this film... |
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