Scott Tobias in his
New Cult Canon columns mentioned a type of movie called the "'cinema of cool' that pantheon of movies with enough style and attitude to reduce critical thinkers into drooling fanboys and fangirls". He was referring to
Army of Darkness, a pure unabashed, unashamed thrill ride with not much else going on, but that does it with so much panache that it ends up being hard to fault it. Jean Pierre-Melville's
Le Samourai could fall similarly into this category at times. A hyper-stylized neo-noir thriller filled with pop sensibilities and a suave, cold-as-ice contract killer taking heat from the cops (Alain Delon) as its protagonist. The film is a throwback to 1940's gangster movies but updated for a contemporary setting. While it adopts the whip-smart dialogue of older noir, it takes leave to become more stylistically bold and freely formed. It's also a film that's incredibly fun; taut, thrilling, and utterly cool.
Grade: A
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