Mesrine: Public Enemy #1

Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 continues the story of Jacques Mesrine, a French criminal whose robberies and prison escapes made him a household name in the 1970s. Posing as a journalist and adopting a string of disguises, he presents himself to the public while the police close in. The film follows his final years, as his taste for attention and his growing suspicion of those around him set up a confrontation with the authorities.

Jean-François Richet directed this second half of a two-part portrait, released the same year as its companion, Mesrine: Killer Instinct, and coming after his 2005 film Assault on Precinct 13. Vincent Cassel leads the cast as Mesrine, with Ludivine Sagnier, Mathieu Amalric, Gérard Lanvin, Samuel Le Bihan and Olivier Gourmet among the fifty credited performers. Abdel Raouf Dafri wrote the screenplay, and Thomas Langmann, Maxime Rémillard and André Rouleau produced. The film covers Mesrine's life from 1973 to 1979.

Made for about 25 million dollars, the film returned roughly 15 million at the worldwide box office, a modest result against its cost. Audiences on TMDB rate it 7.3 out of 10 from 963 votes, and a critics' rating stands at the same figure across 91 reviews, so professional and general viewers are closely aligned on the film.