Lost Bullet ★★★ 

THE French love their action crime thrillers and seem to be churning them out for Netflix in particular at the moment.

Whether it’s a film or television series you will find at least a dozen of good quality. Of course I haven’t seen them all, but my personal favourite is the four seasons of police drama series Braquo with the great Jean-Hughes Anglade (which isn’t on Netflix; SBS I think).

Guillaume Pierret’s debut 2020 film Lost Bullet is about corrupt cops but falls more on the action side, featuring some of the best small screen car stunt work we’ve seen for some time.

It’s violent, action-packed (guns, cars and fists) and cast members die unexpectedly, which is always a fun time.

Alban Lenoir is a little wooden in the lead role of Lino, an impulsive thief whom we first see trying to pull off a heist in the crudest way possible – driving flat-out through brick walls into a jewellery store.

Things go wrong and he winds up in prison, but is given a lifeline by the head of a police flying squad that is looking for a gifted mechanic to help boost the power of their interceptor police vehicles.

Lino proves himself an invaluable asset but also becomes the main suspect when one of the police officers in the team is murdered. He must go on the run to provide his innocence.

The film ends with a part-resolution in the knowledge that Lost Bullet 2 is also available to watch immediately.