IMDb meta-data is a runtime of 1h and 40m, rated 5.8 by 1,900 cinematizens.
Genre: Sy Fy; Species: krimi.
DNA: France.
Verdict: Oh hum.
Tagline: The dog did not bark, at all.
Odd couple plods get in way other their heads and call in all their favours. Every trope in the book is thrown into this soup in the hope some of it resonants. And speaking of resonating the soundtrack is loud enough to put the Gay Mardi Gras to shame. If noise, bloody corpses, angry words, pistol waving, impossible car chases, mass murder, rat-a-tat of toy guns, and coloured lights are entertainment then this is entertainment.
It’s Paris sometime in the near future where AI rules and all the micro gizmos work. Well, it is fiction – the tech works.
There is more fiction. The docile Parisians have allowed the city to be divided in three Berlin Wall zones, policed by nameless zombies aided by AI controlled lethal drones. See, fiction – docile Parisians.
Zone Three is a refuge the Calais Jungle which is routinely raided by the forces of disorder to maintain the illusion that they are doing something. Zone Two is home to the middling ones like you and me, while Zone One is so exclusive that only conspirators like live there. In typical Parisian fashion the rest of the country is ignored.
Decision-making in policing has been surrendered to AI called Alma which predicts and prevents murders. Well, that is said, but in the nearly two hours of strobe-light confusion that follows no one notices that Alma never does that once. There are plenty of murders, keeping the special effects crew busy, and none are prevented. The low-bid contractor strikes again: Alma offers promise, but no performance, a typical app.
The odd couple are endowed with boring backstories to explain their commitments to the investigation. To a filmmaker professional commitment is never enough. There has to be a personal motivation to connect to the audience since the foreground story is so trite. The actors inhabit their characters but that cannot compensate for shallow script or video game direction.
It is supposed to be an examination of the reliance on AIma, but that is lost in the disco glitter ball distractions. Try The Forbin Project (1970) for a thoughtful and quieter prediction and depiction of that. Or an even earlier cautionary tale on technological solutions to human problems in Robert Sheckley’s short story ‘Watchbird’ (1953). I will comment on the latter soon to stimulate interest in it.
Oh, and the title has nothing to do with the film. There is not even one dog, let alone fifty more.
It was screened as part of the Alliance Française film festival Sydney 2026. I went to it in Leichhardt one rainy afternoon because of the science fiction tag. My mistake.