San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

The films never lose sight of Mesrine the man, a fascinating character in that he's brutal yet extremely intelligent, has a skewed but discernible conscience, and, under the right circumstances, can be warm and generous.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

It makes for continuously riveting, visceral entertainment that evokes a Gallic "Scarface" without the drugs.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

The acting is macho understatement. Mesrine is a character who might have been played years ago by Gerard Depardieu, who appears here as Guido, a bullet-headed impresario of larceny.

Orlando Sentinel by Roger Moore

Cassel's performance...the best reason to see this, one of the best French (In French with English subtitles) crime thrillers of the new millennium.

Portland Oregonian by Shawn Levy

The film is big and sprawling and moves with fiery energy -- there's little or no exposition or explanation between scenes or episodes, yielding a breakneck pace.

Empire by Kim Newman

Instantly gripping, with a powerhouse star performance, it'll make you want to speed through the weeks to get to part two.

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

Part One, at least, is a French "Bonnie and Clyde."

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Jennie Punter

While Mesrine: Killer Instinct certainly deserves a place among memorable French gangster films, Richet never delivers a clear theme here, let alone a plot.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

As biographical crime thrillers go, Killer Instinct is a worthy entry to the genre, although the incompleteness of the story makes it difficult to evaluate on its own. The movie needs to be seen in the context of a greater whole for it to be fully appreciated.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

So what is it? Primarily it's a showcase for Vincent Cassel, who dines out on the role and won a Cesar award (the Gallic Oscar) for his efforts.

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

Mesrine was no more a movie star than John Dillinger was, but both men could dream, and Cassel catches the folly of such dreaming, with its blasts of thuggery and its rare flashes of style, as neatly as anyone since Warren Oates took the title role of "Dillinger," in 1973.

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

This disappointing dramatization, mounted with generic blandness by Jean-François Richet, makes no case for the man's larger significance, nor does any emotional digging at all. Such detachment was no doubt considered artistically shrewd-it's a big mistake.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

The events may be accurate, but Mesrine is so episodic that it's slightly maddening to watch.

Movieline by Michelle Orange

Mostly it's frustrating; the film is an episodic jumble that runs hot and cold not in some implied thematic synchronicity with its subject's character but as part of a misguided approach that assumes the audience will find whatever Mesrine does, in whatever order and with whatever emphasis, inherently fascinating.

Village Voice by Nicolas Rapold

Richet proves maddeningly loath to edit his material, and his charismatic star, Vincent Cassel, does not delve deep into the character.