Secret Agents
Secret Agents
| 03 March 2004 (USA)
Secret Agents Trailers

From his offices in Switzerland, Russian Igor Lipovsky is engaged in a vast and profitable gunrunning operation with Africa. The French government wants to hinder the activities of the arms dealer and sends a team to sink one of his ships heading for Angola with a load of illegal weaponry. Lisa, Brisseau, Loïc, Tony and Raymond are professionals: they carefully set up their cover, plan all their moves meticulously, and carry out orders without asking questions. Perhaps they should. The code-name of the mission is "Janus"; and just like with the ancient deity, there are two opposite faces for every aspect of the operation: the objective of the French government, the role of each team member, the presumed friend and the assumed foe...

Reviews
StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.
Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.
Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
zilief 1-It's a spy movie. 2-It's not a James Bond.Follow a team of cold-blooded, adrenaline-addicted of french secret agents on what seems to be a "simple" fire and forget mission. Forget about sub cars, laser pens and kinky secret bases, this one is more about living a spy life, stuck in what smells like a "rainbow warrior" secret op. Frederic Schoendorffer and his crew made an impressive work on showing the pressure upon the characters, their loneliness and the void of their lives. A really clever choice is made whenever it comes to action : what they show us is not another dragon-ballish ballet, but short scenes that just tell that these people know what they're doing. There are lots of details, not the usual visible evidences that lead to colonel Mustard, and the real name of the game is planning. Get all that wrapped in a strong technical treatment (filming, editing and the sound work!) and you've got a movie that's not your usual popcorn spy flick but a real reflexion about what drools in the shadow of politics.
stinnemans Agents Secrets is not only a spy / contra-spy thriller but also one of the best portfolio examples french cinema has nowadays. With few words and dynamic fast camera movements the actor-couple Monica Bellucci & Vincent Cassel are very well fitted in this story of spies & secret agents. Not the most original story, but the story sequence is.It is a joy to watch these two professional actors, there is no question about if they are acting: the just ARE the two secret service agents. No doubt about it. You will be touched by the movie and once you will see the credit rolling by, you still be in your chair thinking about all the impressions and story line.I think this one is a high ranker on your list if you like spy-games.
fabibi Frederic Schoendorffer directed 4 years ago a great serial killer movie with a realistic point of view, "Scenes de crimes". And now he does it all over again with "Agents secrets", a sharp, always surprising look at the world of spies. Like, a James Bond movie directed by Ken Loach (well, sort of). Of course, when you decide to take a movie genre and break all its rules one by one, it helps to have two major movie stars by your side. Our American friends may not realize how big Vincent Cassell and Monica Bellucci are in France. They're, like, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, only more rebellious and real and glamorous and daring and hip. When you look at their respective filmographies, you know for sure that "Agents secrets" won't be a "Troy" or a "Along Came Polly" (though I do respect and love Brad and Jennifer, their career moves are sometimes, well, surprising). Now, Vincent and Monica are a real life couple and they do not play a couple in "Agents secrets", but two spies who pretend to be a couple on a mission that will go awfully wrong. Don't expect too many visual effects here : the suspense is intensely psychological and the cast does deliver, even though the screenplay sometimes doesn't (to be honest, the story is not always clear). When I saw the movie, most people in the audience were very angry by its ending. Without giving it away, I can tell you it is daring : the director wanted to make a movie about the extraordinary life of ordinary people who have no choice, once they've chosen such a lifestyle, but to live this way till they die. Their whole life is a mission, and it has no end.
sogeki good casting doesn't mean that a movie is good. it only win in fame but not the audience/spectators. good casting isn't the important element of a good movie. good work from actors and good story plot is.== Monica bellucci, irreversible's Alex, is pretty ... so this film emphasize on selling her...and her husband, vince (vincent cassel) is her couple agent. like irreversible, like brotherhood of wolf, only sell this popular couples...remember that, good cast, popular girl (Monica bellucci) is not enough, but only a good storyline is.to conclude, there is nothing good to be remembered here. Bad film.not a good actress, pretty actress can hold all spectators, if your storyline is as good as frighteners, yeah it can hold many many spectators! but this movie only sells the vincent cassel couples! only sell these 2 ppl isn't enough. Monica is pretty but if we only want to see her beauty, Malena/Bro. of wolf/irreversible can satisfy us. remember, pretty actress isn't the only point for a movie to win.can you all see matrix 2 and 3? though the hi-tech wins but it is boring than matrix 1, why? because ppl there only emphasize on the tech used there, but not improve the storyline. so it lose when compared to matrix 1!To conclude on matrix series, it tells that..."good casting isn't everything, good storyline is(find the right actors)"!