Idris Elba has already made a name for himself by playing a surly UK detective who beat Apartheid using a giant robot (I may be remembering that wrong), so I guess he deserves to slum it for a while. Said slum in this case being Bastille Day, an upcoming espionage action-thriller which looks just like so many other big star-led by-the-numbers espionage action-thrillers we see Hollywood crank out all the time. Pierce Brosnan, Milla Jovovich and Sean Penn are but a few names that have ticked this pretty generic genre box over the last few years, with all of them delivering serviceable but not really remarkable escapist fare.
And Bastille Day seems to be following suit, with Elba being helped out in this endeavour by Game of Thrones star and “Worst Royal Weddings Ever!” season 1 winner Richard Madden. Neither seem to really be bringing any heavyweight acting to the role – a pity after Elba’s ferocious recent turn in Beasts of No Nation – but they do appear to be shooting/punching the right people and running in the correct directions, which is always a plus for these kinds of films.
Check out the trailer below.
Michael Mason (Richard Madden, ‘Game of Thrones’) is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself hunted by the CIA when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Briar (Idris Elba, ‘Luther’, Long Walk To Freedom, Pacific Rim), the field agent on the case, soon realizes that Michael is just a pawn in a much bigger game and is also his best asset to uncover a large-scale conspiracy.
Going against commands, Briar recruits Michael to use his expert pickpocketing skills to help quickly track down the source of the corruption. As a 24hr thrill ride ensues, the unlikely duo discover they are both targets and must rely upon each other in order to take down a common enemy.
Bastille Day is directed by James Watkins (The Woman In Black) and also stars Charlotte Le Bon, Jose Garcia, and Kelly Reilly. It is scheduled to be released in the UK on April 22, 2016, with no further international release dates announced yet.
Last Updated: February 18, 2016
Lardus-For the Chimichangas!
February 21, 2016 at 14:12
This looks good…really good!