Skip to content
Braquo Season 2…
NOTE THAT THIS REVIEW ASSUMES YOU HAVE SEEN ALL OF SEASON ONE.
As the second season of Braquo begins, everyone from the team has been captured except Theo (Nicolas Duvauchelle), who is on the run through the forest and being shot at by the baddies, but soon ends up in hospital.
Yes, the bad cops are not Eddy Caplan (Jean-Hugues Anglade, below) and his team, but Internal Affairs’ Roland Vogel (Geoffroy Thiebaut) and those on his side, for they have made a deal with the devil… well, Serge Lemoine (Alain Figlarz, bottom pic), to get their way.
No-one will get time to sit back and relax with an espresso, since before long, World War 3 seemingly breaks out in a suburban street with semi-automatic rifles being used between two warring sides. The reason? 400kg in gold ingots and the controlling thereof.
For such a serious case as this, and one that can cause big problems for the head honchos if it doesn’t get solved, despite the fact that Eddy, Theo, Roxanne (Karole Rocher) and Walter (Joseph Malerba) have either been demoted, struck off the force or jailed, will those at the top find the situation is so severe that they need to be brought back together and re-hired in their original jobs?
Key characters – and it’s a credit to the writers that they can juggle so many and they ALL remain memorable – include Gaëtan Merks (Pascal Demolon), a member of a team called The Invisibles, but what exactly did go down when these soldiers were out in Angola? Early on, there’s references made to it, but you’re itching for the full story to come out; Yannis Fahad (Farid Elouardi) is a sleazy solicitor who is one of many who wants Lemoine dead, for killing someone important to him; there’s the grim-looking Madame Arifa (Annie Mercier) who looks like she’s ready for the retirement home but is not one to be underestimated, and has two loyal sons by her side.
Atom Paradjanov (Arsène Jiroyan) is an Armenian who has his fingers in way too many pies; on the side of the law are General Fevre (Yann Babilee Keogh), the Head of Intelligence and his Deputy, Antoine Bleuvenne (Dimitri Rataud); but my favourite baddie is Colonel Dantin (Francois Levantal, below with Hubert Kounde), who looks like a cartoon bad-guy with his grey hair, chiselled jaw and dark glasses, and he’s backed up by henchmen Jonas Luanda (Hubert Kounde) and Werner Blitch (Martial Bezot).
Season 2 feels even more stylishly shot than season 1. There was a two-year gap between seasons, but I’m watching this within a matter of weeks, given the Blu-ray release dates.
And it’s difficult to write a review of a TV series without giving any key points away, but it’s safe to say that at times, it reminds me of ’24’ when it had very tightly-written episodes, albeit without the time element. If you enjoyed season one, then you know you’ll be coming back for more, and if you haven’t seen it, then make sure you watch that first because the story arc continues into this one.
I will quote one of my favourite lines from this season, when one character asks a prostitute to describe herself over the phone. In reply, she asks him how big his ‘tool’ is. He replies, “My tool? When it comes out, Rocco Siffredi hides his in shame.”
Braquo Season 2 is, quite simply, perfection continued.
Presented in the original 16:9 ratio, the picture perfectly captures the filthy-looking police station and the grim local streets of Paris, with the latter also being made to look stylish at times, given the direction.
The sound is in Dolby ProLogic and is fine for what it does, getting across the dialogue (even though I need the subtitles to understand it), assorted gunfire and plenty of atmosphere.
Sadly, there are no extras on this release, so technically the overall score loses points for that, but realistically, click on the packshot and you’ll see you are getting eight episodes of quality entertainment for around £15 on Blu-ray, so there’s no argument. Just buy it today!
The menu features static links to the four episodes on each of two discs, with the theme playing in the background, oddly with a slightly higher pitch.
Naturally, there are subtitles in English, which are burnt into the print, so if you are French and have bought this, you’ll find you can’t switch them off. Chapters are thin on the ground with just 6 per 50-minute episode.
|
FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS |
10 10 7 0 |
| OVERALL | Unmissable! |
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 8 * 50 minutes
Year: 2011
Released: June 25th 2012
Cat no: FCD646
Chapters: 6 per epsiode
Picture: 1080p High Definition
Sound: Dolby Pro Logic
Languages: French
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 16:9
Disc Format: 2*BD50
Directors: Olivier Marchal and Frédéric Schoendoerffer
Producers: Hervé Chabalier, Claude Chelli and Christophe Louis
Series writing credits: Olivier Marchal, Frank Henry and Yann Le Nivet
Music: Erwann Kermorvant
Cast:
Eddy Caplan: Jean-Hugues Anglade
Théo Vachewski: Nicolas Duvauchelle
Walter Morlighem: Joseph Malerba
Roxane Delgado: Karole Rocher
Serge Lemoine: Alain Figlarz
Gabriel Marceau: Samuel Le Bihan
Colonel Dantin: Francois Levantal
Gaëtan Merks: Pascal Demolon
Jonas Luanda: Hubert Kounde
Myriam Elmdoro: Sophie Broustal
General Fevre: Yann Babilee Keogh
Antoine Bleuvenne: Dimitri Rataud
Madame Arifa: Annie Mercier
Latif Arifa: Marc Citti
Werner Blitch: Martial Bezot
Yannis Fahad: Farid Elouardi
Mwene Bembesi: Steve Tientcheu
Ouari Boumendjel: Salem Kali
Daniel Arifa: Virgile Bramly
Cyril Kervaso: Steve Kalfa
Laurine Kervaso: Margo Abascal
Roland Vogel: Geoffroy Thiebaut
Procureur Vanderbeke: Pascal Elso
Fargette: Joël Lefrançois
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.