Le 51e Etat

Ronny Yu ne sait pas travailler avec perspective et cynisme, ce qui était nécessaire ici. La scène où Samuel L. Jackson jette des pilules aux danseurs de la discothèque est complètement ratée. Les personnages sont des voyous paresseux et ne sont pas du tout cool. Et le réalisateur veut que nous nous identifions à eux. Il y a beaucoup de blagues, mais la plupart d'entre elles ne sont pas bien placées. Les transmettre simplement par la bouche de l'acteur ne suffit pas. Le film a de la dynamique, mais sans humour et sympathie pour les personnages, il ne devient qu'un accélérateur d'ennui. (12/10/2003)

The inevitable conflict that arises from the mutual confrontation of an American and a Brit is a perfect basis for the film's main theme. The script, as in similar films, is not the most important thing. All responsibility is placed on the shoulders of the director and the actors. Unlike the cumbersome crossover Freddy vs. Jason, director Ronny Yu took a much more relaxed approach to the film. Jokes on the theme mentioned at the beginning abound. Only a few of those moments, which Yu crowned with a punchline, were many times more entertaining than the entire previous content. Unfortunately, this brings the film down to an average level, despite the likable plot and great performances from the actors (Samuel L. Jackson, along with his naked backside, is defeated by Robert Carlyle's non-stop barrage of insults). However, the mental emptiness and the waste of the potential of the story will rather frustrate than sadden. (10/06/2005)

Formula 51 is a fantastic, almost old-school action flick filled with a bunch of eccentric characters you just don’t see in modern movies anymore. Samuel L. Jackson as a chemist and creator of a new drug is actually one of the more "normal" ones. But when Robert Carlyle picks him up at the airport and starts rambling about Manchester, only to storm into a pub full of Liverpool fans in a football jersey, you realize this is one of those unapologetically wild films that defined my childhood. And then there's Rhys Ifans, playing a totally psychotic character. Formula 51 feels like a refreshing mix of Ocean's Eleven with a dash of Guy Ritchie flair. (16/06/2021)

Take Pulp Fiction and Snatch, shake, not stir, and pour into a Liverpool glass and this is the outcome. It’s nothing special, but, as entertainment, it’s enough. SLJ is super, and RC no less than divine. The trouble with the fucking Yanks is, they have no fucking sense. (23/10/2010)

I was greatly entertained. Robert Carlyle's performance was excellent and his great English accent kicked the film up a notch. I’m not saying that the film didn’t have its flaws, but I could see past them. (07/05/2020)