Undescribable Perfection

People are voting emotionally.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

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.

As this film opens our protagonist, Fred, is driving along barely noticing that he is being chased by another car even when it starts ramming him. Once he realises he heads into the Paris Metro where he abandons the car. Here he retreats into the maze of tunnels and meets a variety of characters who appear to live there; Roller, a roller-skating snatch-thief; Big Bill, a bodybuilder, a florist and even a band. We soon learn that Fred is a thief and he has stolen documents from a very dangerous man. He tries to blackmail the man's wife, Héléna, into paying for the documents but ends up developing feelings for her. While this is going of the authorities are looking for Roller and the gangster's men are still searching for Fred.The way this early film from director Luc Besson opens is clearly a hint of things to come; the car chase might not be as intense as those in the 'Transporter' and 'Taxi' films but shows a similar style and is a lot of fun. Once Fred is in the tunnels of the Paris Metro the characters he meets are as interesting as they are varied. The plot isn't exactly complex and there are few real surprises but that didn't bother me as it mainly served to introduce us to the characters and provide a series of entertaining and somewhat surreal moments. The mostly subterranean setting adds a lot to the great feel of the film. The cast did a fine job, most notably Christopher Lambert, who is on good form as Fred, but also Isabelle Adjani, as Héléna; Jean-Hugues Anglade as the Roller; Richard Bohringer as the florist and Jean Reno as the drummer amongst others. As the film reaches its end we are treated to an impressively bitter-sweet conclusion. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of Luc Besson; it is good stylish fun.These comments are based on watching the film in French with English subtitles.

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.

If you want an early-80s French film that looks good and has a perceptible plot, try DIVA instead of this eye-popping failure.I agree that Besson has a wonderful visual sense, and he obviously loves the Metro (as I do too, having visited Paris not long after this film was made). But all the cool costumes, chases, and quirky characters can't make up for the absence of a decent story. (Jeunet figured this out and made MICMACS, a much better film about quirky characters who live at the fringe of society.) There's a wonderful car chase at the opening and then it's literally downhill from there. Blackmail, a holdup, a bizarre rock band in an underground music store (featuring composer Eric Serra on bass), a dysfunctional marriage...they're all mixed together, topped off with an awful ending.Serra's score is a great example of 1980s synth/jazz, unfortunately spoiled here and there by completely idiotic lyrics. Fans of Besson, lovers of subways, or folks needing an 80s overdose might enjoy this film. And whatever you do, avoid the dubbed version, which unfortunately was all that was available from my streaming video source.