Look Over Once
Chief inspector Mattei (Daniel Auteuil) has been on the case of some smart bank robbers for a while and now believes he is finally ready to bring them down as he has a team in place where he is convinced they are about to strike. But what Mattei didn't count on was the criminals being one step ahead with a sniper in place to gun down the police as they begin to swoop leaving most of his team dead. Whilst Mattei catches a man he is convinced is the shooter he is unable to get anything from him. But things become more complicated at the hideout of the robbers as there is no loyalty amongst thieves.
"The Lookout" starts with a genuinely entertaining set up with this bank job and the police waiting outside to pounce, it seems typical until we become aware of a masked sniper up on a roof. It is a clever, exciting as well as bloody opening as blood spurts from the cops as they are hit. Unfortunately "The Lookout" or "Le guetteur" to give it its French title is unable to maintain the same level of excitement as it evolves in to a typical case of a cop determined to get revenge for what has happened.
Now in fairness every now and then it grabs your attention with an explosive moment, quite literally in some cases but it makes it sporadic. But then there is the other side to the movie which takes us to the criminal's hideout and without telling you what happens things become complicated between the criminals. It gives it an interesting angle but doesn't stop it from falling to a basic level of action entertainment. I suppose you could say it is trying for depth but never really makes the depth surrounding the criminals interesting
What this all boils down to is that "The Lookout" ends up entertaining and in fairness stylish. But it is also a movie which promises certain things but fails to deliver on them making it sadly only an entertaining movie in the moment.
