A new action thriller has exploded ontoNetflixand is finding huge success as audiences flock to stream this tale of a police officer who stumbles upon a conspiracy while investigating the suspicious deaths of two of his colleagues. Combining action and police procedural thrills,Squad 36has shot up the global Netflix top 10, and could be the gritty thriller you’ve been looking for.
Directed by Olivier Marchal and starring Victor Belmondo, Tewfik Jallab, and Yvan Attal, the French mystery action thrillerSquad 36drops audiences in present-day Paris, and centers on a rebellious former elite police officer, Antoine Cerda, who, after two of his former colleagues are killed and a third goes missing, begins his own investigation, discovering a bitter feud withing the police force.Squad 36is now #2 on the Netflix worldwide chart, just behind anotherrecent action thriller hit,Counterstrike, and you’re able to check out the official synopsis below.
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The action thriller boasts a score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
“Forced out of his elite unit, a troubled cop launches his own rogue investigation when mysterious killings claim the lives of his former colleagues.”
Squad 36certainly sounds like a gripping mix of action, drama, and investigative mystery, but is it worth a stream? Well, yes, but perhaps don’t go in expecting it to change your life. Florian Etcheverry ofWhat’s on Netflixheaped praise onthe action sequences on display, as well as the movie’s “unexpected ending,” both of which make up somewhat for what amounts to a more middling movie.
“Brutal action scenes, gritty characters, and an unexpected ending make up for somewhat redundant themes and problems of pacing in the first half of the movie.”
Archi Sengupta ofLeisureByte.comfelt similarly, awarding the action outing a solid 3.5./5, saying, “Squad 36is a thorough enjoyable French action-thriller on Netflix with good performances throughout.” Dropping to a decidedly average (perhaps even below average in review terms) with 5/10 is the response from Siddhant Adlakha ofIGN, who said ofSquad 36, “After a thrilling opening chase, French police dramaSquad 36loses all momentum, and meanders through a plot about corruption that seldom feels like it has any stakes. Its central character, Victor Belmondo’s roguish cop Antoine Cerda, moves from place to place, but remains at an emotional standstill, resulting in a dialogue-heavy crime movie with little to say.”
And, finally, on the savagely negative side of the spectrum Pramit Chatterjee ofDigital Mafia Talkiesrates the movie just 1/5, but does at leastapplaud the opening sequence, saying, “the opening sequence of Squad 36 is worth a watch; the rest of the movie isn’t.”
So, it sounds likeSquad 36is worth firing up…so long as you know what you’re in for. The new French thriller is just one of several action movies currently streaming on Netflix, including last year’s hitsRebel Ridge,Carry-On, andThe Shadow Strays, with this year having already unleashed the likes ofCounterstrikeandDemon City.
