A missed opportunity, if you know Vidocq's 'real' story (itself probably half-fiction), his skill at disguises and undercover work for instance. As it is, we end up with a period action drama which gleefully ignores how long it took to load period pistols to allow a number of Western style shoot-outs and various hand to hand combat, as well as at least two beautiful women to add romance. The result is somewhere between "The Count of Monte Christo" and "Cartouche", with hints of early nineteenth century political intrigue scattered all through it. There are felicities - the opening promises an earthy brutality which quickly disappears, and the views of period Paris seem well-researched. It's also a surprise to discover Olga Kurylenko, whom many Bond fans will know, but whom I last saw playing a beautiful Cuban dancer in "Magic City" as a sulphorous baronne (speaking perfect French). I hadn't seen Lucchini for decades, so was taken aback by his age. A fun film in many ways, but not really a film I would have watched had I known it was going to so blithely ignore the source material.

To begin with the good, "L'Empereur de Paris" contains splendid special effects, especially with regard to the architectural evocation of Paris during the Napoleonic era. The props, costumes and locations are remarkable too. More generally, the movie does a good job of evoking the wider historical context. During the time period between, say, 1780 and 1840, France went through a dazzling array of regimes, most of which did not hesitate to use violence and propaganda. This must have caused wide-spread political and societal dislocation, resulting in thousands upon thousands of troubled, demoralized and alienated citizens. This also must have turned the country into a hugely dangerous and volatile place, where people could kill (or be killed) over details such as a hairstyle, an accent, a family name. The various characters evolving within "L'Empereur" drip with violence, lawlessness and cynicism, but these qualities didn't come out of nowhere ; on the contrary, these characters are immediate products of their time.

To continue with the positive, "L'Empereur" also contains a number of impressively choreographed fights.

However, the movie falls down badly with regard to the story being told ; it could have used more heart, focus, unity. It also could have used more clarity. The movie tends to disintegrate in a series of separate incidents where people kill, help, threaten, spare, save, intimidate or seduce each other : the overarching reason behind these various actions often remains a mystery. François Vidocq, the central character, too remains a riddle and a cipher, in spite of a fine performance by actor Vincent Cassel. As a viewer, you don't know where the man is coming from, what he's really thinking and where his true objectives lie. (For instance, he seems to be blessed with formidable powers of escape, but it's unclear how he discovered and honed these abilities.)

Moreover, some of the characters serve little purpose. Our bad girl baroness, for instance, seems to exist mainly in order a) to provide some additional female beauty and b) to promise a potential sequel. ("Watch L'Empereur II, in which our hero goes on to spy for his country in Milan !")

A number of missed opportunities, here.