Brief Story Line
Assane Diop (Omar Sy - Inferno, The Call of the Wild etc) was a professional thief who had his eyes on a long lost necklace belonging to Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre) which was being auctioned and shown by Hubert's daughter Juliette (Clotilde Hesme). Apparently there was a reason for Assane to aim for that specific necklace. He himself was inspired by the character of gentleman thief Arsène Lupin from the book given by Assane's late father Babakar Diop (Fargass Assandé).
The heist resulted him being hunted by the police led by Captain Romain (Vincent Londez) and his team Lieutenant Belkacem (Shirine Boutella) and Guedira (Soufiane Guerrab). Meanwhile Assane also has to deal with his separated wife Claire (Ludivine Sagnier - Peter Pan, Swimming Pool etc) and their teenage son Raoul (Etan Simon).
So what would happen to Assane as he juggled through his personal mission, life and avoiding capture by the police? You could find them all in this exciting series.
End of Brief Story Line
After watching the first episode of this series, I thought it was totally awesome. I was really excited like I would have hoped for in series of such genre. Then as I moved on to the latter episodes, I was really hooked by it. Even though it was not entirely focusing on spectacular heist in each episode but there was always something interesting to see.
What makes the series entertaining was the character of Assane Diop (played wonderfully by Omar Sy). He was intelligent and charming, perfectly suited as the gentleman thief. Btw, Arsène Lupin was the character created by Maurice LeBlanc and said to be the French counterpart of Sherlock Holmes. There were even short novels pitting these two characters against each other. As a thief, Assane was a master of disguise which helped in his various acts.
Despite his seemingly untroubled life, Assane had a dark past which would be revealed little by little as the story progressed. At first I was actually hoping for more spectacular heists, but having a large story arc was great as well, especially when that story was interesting to see. Aside from Assane, I also liked the character Claire (nicely portrayed by Ludivine Sagnier) as she seemed genuinely fitting as Assane's still loving & caring separated wife. Their romance was lovely to watch.
Of all the 5 episodes, I really enjoyed the first episode which was kind of spectacular and the 5th episode which provided many dramatic moments. But I found the 4th episode to be disappointing as I think it was totally uncharacteristic of Assane and a bit unrealistic, although one can argue that it was supposed to give a more humane touch of him. Personally though, that part tainted what I thought would have been a perfect part one. Nevertheless, I still felt this series was really worthwhile.
So if you are looking for a series that combine the artistry of thief and disguise with a wonderful portrayal of a gentleman thief perfectly played by the charming Omar Sy, then this one is definitely a great option. But do not expect this to be a series about spectacular heist on every episode as it has larger story arc and did not focus on that area, although you could enjoy the art of deception. I just hope that the second part would be even more entertaining and gave a satisfying conclusion. Really cannot wait till it comes out in few months time.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
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