While Mesrine: Death Instinct chronicled the ascendancy of Vincent Cassel’s cocksure French crim, Jacques Mesrine, this second chapter ditches the mechanics of his life story in favour of a ruminative, often unsympathetic inspection of his contradictory character traits. The early stages hint at a Heat-like battle of wits between Mesrine and tireless police commissioner Broussard (Olivier Gourmet), but a last-minute escape from justice puts the spotlight back on Cassel. Unlike its more lively predecessor, this offering is more interested in dissecting the criminal mindset and proposes the theory that the acts of a felon prevent him or her from being able to maintain logical personal and political ideals. In one scene, Mesrine violently forces a family to hide him from the cops, the next minute, he’s handing over loot in return for their services.