Elyas: Roschdy Zem survives in an action thriller as brutal as it is failed

The Return of Florent Emilio-Siri

Screenwriter and director Florent Emilio-Siri has an undeniable talent, which he demonstrated early and sensationally Wasp’s Nest in 2001. A suffocating and spectacular action thriller, rightly compared to Assault by John Carpenter and nourished by American inspirations, which the director also fills with political and social material in continuity with his first film A minute of silence. After four more films, Hostage, The intimate enemy, Cloclo, Full board, and the Netflix series Marseillewe haven’t seen him in action since 2016.

Parenthesis now closed, since Florent Emilio-Siri has returned Elijahan ultra-gripping action thriller. And in which unfortunately only Roschdy Zem appears at the level that one would expect from a feature film of this genre, and from this director.

Roschdy Zem floats

Let’s go straight: Elijah he passed away. And paradoxically, it is not for lack of trying. Florent Emilio-Siri tells the story of Elyas, a former member of the special forces and “failed operative” (which will be important) who suffers from terrible post-traumatic stress. Living in a hostel, working vaguely as a bodyguard here and there, he is contacted by a friend and former brother in arms to protect the wife and daughter of an Emirati prince during their stay in France. The problem is that, once he arrives at the castle where this family resides, the security team he joins seems to have a very dark plan… When a commando attacks the place, Elyas will do anything to protect Amina (Laëtitia Eïdo) and Nour. (Jeanne Michel), his 13-year-old daughter.

The first part of the film recalls Wasp’s Nestwith this place and its occupants assailed, and an Elyas resembling the Creasy of The Man on Fire by Tony Scott. A widely shared reference, which has rather the suffering of alcoholism and that of remorse for a violent life, dangerous paranoia and great psychological distress. Roschdy Zem, imperial in his taciturn character and on the verge of dementia, soon reveals himself to be lethal, hyper-effective in killing in the style of John Wick. Physically, as in the few dialogues he cannot escape, the actor demonstrates that this type of interpretations and roles, from which he has however distanced himself, still fit him like a glove.

Too many movies and themes

Therefore, the first part of the film is quite successful, leading up to the commando assault. a seductive blur. Narrated from his point of view, the film delays the answer to the question of whether Elyas is extra-lucid or whether his paranoia has driven him mad. But when it finally becomes clear that Elyas, despite his heavy instability, speaks and acts REALthe film, trying to stay in line The Man on Firebecomes something else. Indeed, the adventures will pile up frenetically, like the references that Florent Emilio-Siri wants to cling to. There is therefore John WickFrom LionFrom Tyler Rake furthermore, at the time the film home invasion becomes a rescue and extraction film, transferred to a foreign country for Elyas to have an “operational drop”, which is not at all spectacular despite its intentions.

With all these inspirations, a great fair of themes opens up that will split your head. Affairs of state, family betrayals, friendship and loyalty, sacrifice and redemption, deepfakes, migration crisis… It’s too much, too much for a character who could have dealt with all this in several films, instead of condensing everything and flying through in 1h39.

A new movie so old

The promise was interesting. And maybe ten years ago, before the medley standard imposed by streaming to gather the greatest number of viewers, Elijah would have been different, more frugal in its approach, more “to the bone” and less superficial. Florent Emilio-Siri, who works here with his historic team, Olivier Gajan on editing and Giovanni Fiore Coltellacci on photography, Mimi Lempicka on costumes and Alexandre Desplat on music – only Benoît Magimel is missing -, was undoubtedly thinking of doing something new and original. Unfortunately, it is rather an unbalanced mixture of old and worn out recipes and stereotypical characters possible, a sort of reminiscence of productions of this type by EuropaCorp.

The shots and the punches, the mysterious anger of Elyas – the cause of which we discover in a classic and unsurprising way through the story of his friend in the third part of the film – prevent us from getting completely bored and falling asleep. But everything is so fluid that we are never surprised by anything, condemned to wait for Elyas to finish doing what he has to do. Oh yes, there is one thing that surprises us: Dimitri Storoge, who we are too used to seeing become the villain of bad films, is not there. Elijah. Which, however, remains a bad thing for him.

Elijah by Florent Emilio-Siri, in theaters from July 3, 2024. Above is the trailer.

Source: Cine Serie

Ray

Ray Ortiz is a journalist at Gossipify, known for his coverage of trending news and current events. He is committed to providing readers with accurate and unbiased reporting, and is respected for his ability to keep readers informed on the latest news and issues.