El derecho a matar

An exemplary French crime film with all it entails. Unlike other brilliant French films, however, here I sometimes had to struggle to understand what was going on the screen due to the frantic editing or illogical behavior of some of the characters. The cherry on the top is taken by a megalomaniac action scene where Alain Delon is engaged in a car chase throughout a city and he loses the car only to discover it again around the corner, refueling petrol at the gas station as if nothing special was going on. Such moments of the film took away the fifth star from my rating. Otherwise, however, it’s a great crime movie, with an ending that is typical for French cinematography. (22.10.2019)

Delon plays a character who, after helping a mortally wounded man, falls under suspicion that he has learned secret information from him, and becomes a hunted animal himself, fighting for his life. A straightforward story, one of Delon's better films, with a tragic ending that, thanks to its surprise, is like a punch in the gut. (21.07.2002)

Those who were able to follow Alain Delon's projects in recent decades will slowly stop understanding where his cult came from in the past and why he was considered a great talent of French cinema... This film is dated to 1980 and it is Delon's swansong as a tough guy in top criminal thrillers. After that, there were films of declining quality and popularity. At the same time, it is the last major film by Jacques Deray. Although Three Men to Kill is not one of the best films in its genre in France, over time, and especially after I saw it again after a longer break, I feel like giving it the highest rating. It's an honest crime story with nothing missing and nothing in excess, about how one random encounter can turn your life into hell. And a piece of advice in the end - don't provoke smokers on the street, you never know what they might turn into. Overall impression 85%. (24.11.2006)