Have you seen Netflix’s new high-octane, action-packed thriller Lost Bullet 2? If not —Go see it! It’s one of the best action movies Netflix has ever released. Large format goodness — Shot on RED Monstro 8K by cinematographer Morgan S. Dalibert. If John Wick and F&F made a collab…

Lost Bullet (Balle Perdue) series

Lost Bullet (French: Balle perdue) is a 2020 French action thriller film directed by Guillaume Pierret, written by Guillaume Pierret, Alban Lenoir, and Kamel Guemra, and starring Alban Lenoir, Nicolas Duvauchelle, and Ramzy Bedia. Lenoir the main star, is a former stuntman himself. The sequel, Lost Bullet 2, was released by Netflix on November 10, 2022, and a third film has been announced. Every chapter is like a feature regarding length (about 90 minutes of runtime). Lost Bullet is proof that French filmmakers know how to make extraordinary action movies. In fact, the first movie was defined as one of the 20 Best Netflix Original Movies of 2020. Watch the trailers of the two movies below:

The spirit

Think about a combination of F&F (fast and furious), Mad Max, and Jong Wick. Lenoir plays an aggressive role who is looking for justice, which reminds us of a mixture of Vin Diesel and Jason Statham (even he looks like Statham) in the form of a highly skilled genius mechanic named Lino who also has solid expertise in combat and weaponry. The first chapter was released in June 2020. It was entirely filmed in the Mediterranean port city of Sète, Languedoc, France.

Lost Bullet 1 received a mixed reaction from some critics, who variously noted its wooden characters and poor dialogue. Although the action sequences were praised. The second chapter’s filming took place in October 2021 at Agde in Hérault, France, and across the Occitanie region. The canal scene was shot in Montpellier and others at Saint-Affrique – Belmont airport. Critics praised the slightly better character development than in the first film, and the “Impressive stuntwork”, a feature of a larger budget for action sequences and car chases.

Shot on RED Monstro

As opposed to the first chapter which was shot on ARRI ALEXA Mini, in the second chapter, cinematographer Morgan S. Dalibert has picked the RED Monstro 8K and Ranger for the job. In some BTS footage, we can explore the RED Komodo as well. As it seems, the production didn’t want to spend a lot of money on unnecessary approaches and chose to shoot gorilla style. However, the action shots have been meticulously choreographed, shot by two cameras with minimum lighting. As for the car-chase shots, well…let’s say that the Michael Bay spirit was well implemented in them.

Cinematography approach: Work lean, but make it big

Director Guillaume Pierret applied a startup method to the film, especially the second chapter (Balle perdue 2). This approach says that you don’t have to invest a lot of resources to get something big out of hand. This is the lean startup methodology. The car chase sequences were accurately directed. The camera is moving fast, paired with narrow lenses to focus on the aggression of the characters.

Moreover, there’s almost no utilization of green screen and VFX — Only live action to elevate realism. Furthermore, Pierret has released a BTS featurette focusing on choreography and cinematography. And it proves that you can do marvelous stuff with a tight budget. Check it out below (You don’t have to speak French in order to understand what they’re saying):

Wrapping up

Lost Bullet (Balle Perdue) II will grant you a pristine action thriller. Shot on large format cameras, this Netflix hit is killing it. It looks like a crazy collab between John Wick and F&F. Lean production, no VFX, outstanding choreography, fast cinematography, and great highly trained, and dedicated actors (especially Lenoir) make this pure entertainment for Friday night.

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