Lost Ball 2, an even more explosive sequel (review)

Alban Lenoir returns to make a splash in this action film which raises the tension a notch, to be seen this evening on TF1.

Six years ago, Lost Ball came to shake up French action cinema with a very first-rate B series, carried by an ultra-involved Alban Lenoir. For those who missed the previous episode, the actor played Lino, a mechanical genius specializing in ram cars, who was recruited by a unit of elite cops in order to avoid prison. An international hit for Netflix, which of course ordered a sequel straight away. Lost Ball 2 picks up the story where it left off: Lino, betrayed and left in a bad state, wants to avenge the deaths of his brother and his mentor. Not listening to his superiors who beg him to stop his vendetta, he sets out on the trail of the assassins…

Stronger, faster, more furious: the film takes the recipe of the first part to the letter but injects even more tension and spectacular chases. Director Guillaume Pierret, still at the helm, strings together brutal action scenes – with bare hands as well as in cars – and perfectly readable, where Lenoir’s intensity still works wonders. Driven at 200 km/h, Lost Ball 2 compensates for a no-fuss scenario with a thousand little winks and fun ideas (the R21 is back, but now equipped with a sort of super-powerful taser, capable of making other vehicles take off!). A act as we no longer film it at home, which is as reminiscent of Taken – the first, obviously – only to a Fast & Furious rid of its stupefying talk about family and its excessive digital special effects.

For amateurs, Lost Ball 3is already available on Netflix.

Lost Ball 2, by Guillaume Pierret, with Alban Lenoir, Stéfi Celma, Pascale Arbillot… Duration: 1 hour 38 minutes.