Half a Chance (1998)

Fresh and Exciting

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

In his book "I am an impostor", Patrice Leconte wrote that "une Chance Sur Deux" drew more than a million viewers in French theaters when the film was theatrically released. It was however a failure because this film was expensive to make due to its stars: Vanessa Paradis, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, the restless story and its treatment. Critics were hardly tender towards the Leconte 1998 vintage and view the three stars' incredible adventures in an unfavorable light. With hindsight, "une Chance Sur Deux" is sandwiched between two Leconte masterworks: "Ridicule" (1996) and "la Fille Sur la Pont" (1999) and didn't seem to be in the hearts of many Leconte aficionados.However, I'm eager to restore it to favor. Sure, it doesn't match the two aforementioned Leconte works as well as other pearls in his filmography but it has more than good stuff to spend a pleasant time in front of your telly. The starting point could make you guess you're going to watch a reflective piece of work. A young girl Alice is released from prison and is confronted to a serious problem: two men who are retired gangsters claim to be her father. They will have to team up to save their daughter from the clutches of the Russian Maffia, Colombian traffickers and the police.Quite quickly, after having timidly broached the issue of paternity on a humorous tone, Leconte's film takes a lighter direction: to entertain thanks to an unlikely but exciting scenario with stunts, chases interspersed with laughter. I especially dig the moment when Belmondo and Delon oblige a gangster to practice bungee-jumping to help them in their investigation. And amid this flood of unexpected twists and mad adventures shot with a style close from the comic strip, Leconte didn't lose his trademark with witty cues and one of his thematic tastes: the duo of men even if in this domain "une Chance Sur Deux" is much less elaborated than other Leconte films on the same topic like "Tandem" (1987) or "l'Homme Du Train" (2002). One also shouldn't forget some eccentric characters like the cop acted by Michel Aumont.The three stars don't take themselves seriously and it's the position adopted by Leconte to better involve the audience. So, don't be fooled by the lukewarm reception the film garnered about ten years ago and let yourself immersed in this maelstrom of agitation shot with rigor and a conscientious manner.

I have seen this great movie at least 3 times and enjoyed it even more the third time. Of course I saw it in French and for sure it is nothing like a translation. You can feel it throughout the movie how much fun Delon and Belmondo have in playing together, they are enjoying themselves, they have a day of it. What more can you say of the greatest stars of the French cinema for the last 50 years, I have seen almost all of their separate and joint movies, like "Borsalino": but in Borsalino you did not have the same feeling of complicity, which transpires here. All "the most this" and "most that" are pale in comparison to the pleasure you have at seeing them doing what they do best : throwing grenades and pulling the casino down...Vanessa Paradis is new to me, and gave a good show. Some of her scenes with the two lead men are quite moving. I have come to enjoy Eric Defosse, whom we saw as Carella in the "Frank Riva" series. I like him he will go far. This a film to enjoy and laugh..

You look at the birthdates and you shake your head. Belmondo at 65, Delon at 62--who can take them seriously as action heroes? Even Sean Connery had the sense to retire as Bond before he got too many grey hairs.Oh, there are some nice effects--good to see French producers shelling out for explosions and so forth, but this is a poor effort. Only thing to admire is Vanessa Paradis: her toothy grin and enthusiasm are growing on me, but see her in the far-better La Fille sur le pont.

Ok... so Une Chance Sur Deux is not the greatest movie evermade! I'll give you that. It's not even Belmondo's or Delon'sbest film. But it is a very, very entertaining piece of film! Ifyou are a fan of both this actors (like I am) you'll just loveseeing them together in action in this film. And the productionvalues sure help. All in all, you'll have a great two hours offun. Highly recommended.