In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

One of the most boring movies my family and I have ever seen. We didn't really understand the plot (apart from the thief running away from his victim's henchmen). The relationships between the characters are unclear; the reasons behind their actions as well. Musicians start popping up out of nowhere. The end is sudden and unclear. Many loose ends remain. The trailer is also misleading (full of action scenes, which turn out to be the only action scenes in the movie). A complete waste of time in my opinion.

Luc Besson was one of the leading directors of the French cinema movement which was to go on to be referred to as cinéma du look. These films tended to favour style over substance and were a direct response to the 'quality' cinema of France at that time, which tended to focus on realism and avoided 'vulgar' cinematic spectacle. With Subway, Besson delivered what can only be described as a textbook example of what cinéma du look was all about. Like several of its peers it has a somewhat weak story but its slick presentation and consistent quirkiness meant that the ropey narrative was relegated to the margins. Events focus on a thief called Fred who steals important documents from a member of the Paris elite while attending a birthday party for a bored socialite called Héléna, the wife of the high flyer. After being pursued by henchmen, he winds up hiding in the hidden depths of the Paris Métro where he encounters a secret community of social outcasts who live there. In the meantime, police and gangsters seek Fred, while he embarks on a dangerous love affair with Héléna.The story is wilfully absurd and is pretty far from realistic. So what we have is an unashamedly cinematic piece of work. The idea of an underground culture compromising of disenfranchised youths living on the fringes of society is a common one for these types of movies. Like others in its sub-category Subway also has a strong focus on imagery, with characterisation very stylised also. Consequently, this isn't really a film for showcasing acting, with Christopher Lambert certainly looking the part at least and Isabelle Adjani doing as much as she can with the material. There is an English dubbed version out there, which is quite commonly available. It really is to be avoided though as the dubbing is quite poor and really affects the performances even further – seek out the original French language version for sure. But ultimately, Subway is a film that never relies on its paper-thin characters and ropey story-line; its appeal is in its stylisation and quirks. The camera-work is often very good and some of the action-oriented sequences such as the opening car chase and the various pursuits through the Métro are handled very well indeed and are an early indicator that Besson was a great director of stylised action, which he perfected later in the likes of Nikita (1990) and Léon (1994). The other notable feature of Subway is its eccentric quirkiness, which is typified by more or less all the characters to some degree, from the roller-skating thief, to the body-builder who works out with subway parts and the inept cops called Batman and Robin. And that is not to mention the whole plot strand about the rock band formed from Subway musicians, which takes quirkiness to new levels. Also, I reckon Subway has to be one of the most 80's films of all time, from the haircuts, to the fashions and the music – this is a film that screams out 80's at every turn. Despite its deficiencies in story and characters, this one gets by on its over-the-top style. It's so bold in its execution and so unashamedly daft, that it's a film that is quite difficult to dislike. The best way to approach this one would be to not think too much and just accept its strange logic; if you can manage that, there's fun to be had here.

Subway is full of action and will take you places you have never been. The lead character, Fred, is constantly on the run from the cops and is wanted by the woman of his dreams, but not in the way he wishes. This film throws you into an unfamiliar world filled with quirky characters, all of which are involved in some sort of shenanigans deep in the depth of a Paris subway station. Moments after Fred's buddy, a thief notorious for riding on roller skates, gets arrested on the subway, Fred is chased through the long dark corridors, zigzagging through the crowds to escape their hold. He then flees their sight by slipping into an elevator and maneuvering his way through the secret passages of the subway.Luc Besson directed Subway in 1985. The films main actors include Isabelle Adjani (Helena) and Christopher Lambert (Fred). Subway is not rated. Filming was partially held in the Paris Metro and the Paris RER, along with scenes filmed on sets. After spending his night at an upper-class party held for the lovely Helena, Fred gets his hands on very important documents belonging to an entrepreneur/gangster, Helena's husband. He abandons the party and winds up on the run in the Paris Metro among exotic strangers.Fred discovers this convenient hiding spot among people who are similar to him. He can't help but fall in love with the woman out to get him, Helena. All while becoming part of the underground world of the subway Fred and his friends are persistently being chased down by the police and their enemies. To add even more pizazz to the film, Fred gathers a group of musicians to play incredible tunes that comprise the soundtrack of the film.The music in Subway really gives it a unique touch. It isn't the kind of music you hear in your typical action movies. It has it's own jazzy vibe to it. Also, the fact that a piece of the film is centered on the music really draws you into it more. It is fun to see these characters who are lounging around underground all day, make some ear pleasing music. It sets the tone as a eccentric, action-filled film.I recommend this film. I must include that children should steer clear of watching this film, because of its vulgar language. I think many people will enjoy this film, because Luc Besson has created something different from the norm. With this film you can get some laughs and be put on the edge of your seat at moments. Its interesting music makes it amusing to view and listen to.

At the time, a huge box-office hit in its native France - and as a result of the rising popularity of lead actors Christopher Lambert and Isabelle Adjani, something of a cult film in the UK - Subway (1985) was seen as a companion piece to Jean Jacques Beineix's earlier art-house classic, Diva (1981). Together, these two films can be seen as both the development and the continuation of the concerns and preoccupations of the then-newly dubbed "cinema du look" movement; a brief cinematic resurgence in French cinema that saw a younger generation of filmmakers looking back to the days of Godard, Truffaut and the Nouvelle Vague, and combining that sense of playful experimentation with elements of early 80's pop culture. It would be the film that finally introduced director Luc Besson to a wider commercial audience outside of the confines of the French art-house, and really - when looked at as part of the natural progression of his career - seems light years away from his first film, the wordless science fiction parable, Le Dernier Combat/The Last Battle (1983).The characteristics of the cinema du look movement involved preoccupations with doomed love and alienated Parisian youth, applied to a plot that was both cool and iconic. This can be seen quite clearly in Subway, with its mixture of film noir conventions, pop music, subterranean youth-culture, action and broad attempts at humour. As others have previously noted, the film and the style that it employs are very much of their time; presenting a very 80's take on listless youth replete with a central character that looks like Sting, a synthesiser heavy soundtrack that manages to work-in two specially composted New Wave pop songs, some shocking fashion choices (though most of these are admittedly back in vogue) and that general unique, indescribable feeling that you often get from many French films from this era; in particular Buffet Froid (1981), One Deadly Summer (1983), The Moon in the Gutter (1983), First Name: Carmen (1983) Hail Mary (1985), Betty Blue (1986), Mauvais Sang (1986), Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources (1986) and Besson's own subsequent picture, Le Grand Bleu (1988). Subway doesn't necessarily have much in common with these particular films in terms of style or content, but it does have a similar languid feeling, bizarre eclecticism or eccentricity, and an atmosphere that feels very much true to the country and the time it was produced.Overall, the film could be seen by many viewers as something worryingly lightweight; with the knockabout plot, colourful caricatures and continual bombardment of cinematic style perhaps being seen as a smokescreen to the thin plot and ironic characterisations. Like Le Dernier Combat, the ultimate problem with the film is that it can't quite decide whether or not it wants to be an action film or art film; with the combination of the two very different styles never quite gelling in perfect harmony. The opening car chase and initial descent into the bowels of this subterranean underworld hidden deep beneath the Parisian Metro system seem to suggests that the film will be all high-style and high-energy. Subsequent scenes however take a step back, giving us some cool, neo-noir like interaction between Lambert's laconic safe-cracker and Adjani's bored trophy wife, while the opposing forces of police and gangsters begin closing in around them. It is the kind of film that will definitely appeal to a certain kind of viewer, perhaps a more mature audience who are open minded to cult European art cinema, or perhaps maybe a dedicated audience interested in seeing how the director of such highly acclaimed action thrillers, such Nikita (1991) or Leon/The Professional (1994), started out.After first seeing the film a few years ago I wrote "This has no heart. It is an experiment in cinematic formalism; obsessed with technicality but also consumed by the self-indulgence", which to some extent still stands, but I think, with repeated viewings, I've come to enjoy the film and see more of an allure and attraction to the characters of Fred and Héléna, who, quite clearly, struggle throughout to maintain face and make the right decisions in a world that neither of them truly understands. As a result, it might just be the kind of film that takes a few viewings to truly captivate the audience, especially after drawing us in with that aforementioned car chase (which nods to Claude Lelouch's iconic 1974 short film C'était un rendez-vous, whilst simultaneously prefiguring much of the Besson-produced film series, Taxi). Subway clearly isn't a masterpiece. Like his first film, Le Dernier Combat, and the recent Angel-A (2005), it shows Besson at his most inventive and experimental, sampling from a variety of different genres and producing something that is chic and stylish, without ever being truly captivating. It is however an interesting film and one that will no doubt appeal to fans of some of the films aforementioned, chiefly Diva, Buffet Froid and Mauvais Sang, as well as some of Besson's own lesser-known works.