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.

NPR by Mark Jenkins

Any film about a flashy criminal threatens to glamorize its protagonist, but both Mesrine episodes are careful to detail the many goofs made by the crook and his accomplices.

The New York Times by Stephen Holden

The story is deepened with a distinctively European political subtext as the increasingly grandiose Mesrine engages in a running dialogue with various characters about the differences between gangsters and revolutionaries.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

In most movies, we know the police bullets will never find their target. With Mesrine, (1) sometimes they do, and (2) in real life, he survived an incredible 20 years with the police firing at him at least annually.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

Public Enemy openly raises the question of why officers of the law hated Mesrine so much that they were willing to turn his death into a block party.

Empire by Kim Newman

An instant gangster classic.

ReelViews by James Berardinelli

Although Killer Instinct is the better of the two parts, Public Enemy No. 1 is a worthy continuation, providing closure to a tale that was interrupted just as things were getting really interesting.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

Deftly filmed and directed by Jean-François Richet.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

Cassel, who won a Cesar (France's equivalent to the Oscar) for his performance, invests the character with a grounding of humanity and honor that imply there are certain lines even Mesrine would never cross.

Orlando Sentinel by Roger Moore

The lack of dramatic tension that knowing the ending before you being creates isn't a huge drawback.

Chicago Reader by J.R. Jones

Vincent Cassel sets a new standard for Gallic cool as the title character.

The New Yorker by Anthony Lane

Performs the unlikely trick of being both taut and plotless.

The Hollywood Reporter by Kirk Honeycutt

Director Jean-Francois Richet shows a career in crime with pulse-pounding moments of pure cinema, then lets you decide what to make of this homicidal sociopath.

Time Out by Joshua Rothkopf

Simply skip the first part entirely: "Killer Instinct" bulges with a disconnected jumble of nightclub attacks and fence-clipping escapes you've seen better elsewhere. Yet a tide change happens with the superior Public Enemy No. 1, which takes the subject's raging ego as its cue.

Village Voice by Nicolas Rapold

Mesrine's promised end in November 1979 arrives as history recorded it, but, by that time, you're hoping the next vogue in biopics is the short film.