3/5 exciting in Paris, but unravels in Portugal . . .
  by trebe
Based on a novel by Maurice Dantec, and directed by Olivier Megaton, Red Siren (2003) is a thriller that gets off to a promising start, but begins to fall apart near the midway point. In Paris, Alice Kristensen (Alexandra Negrao), a teenage girl comes to police headquarters, with what appears to be evidence of a murder. Speaking to investigator Anita Staro (Asia Argento), the girl says her mother Eva Kristensen (Frances Barber) is responsible for the death of her nanny. Eva is rich, powerful, and into some strange things, but there is insufficient evidence for the police to act. When Alice escapes police custody, two of Mommie's goons give chase. Things get more interesting when Alice takes refuge in the car of a stranger named Hugo (Jean-Marc Barr). There's a lot to Hugo, who has been a mercenary and gun dealer. After visiting a comrade in the biz and loading up, he and Alice are bound for Portugal to find the girl's father. Eva is already in Lisbon, gathering information and recruiting mercenaries. Staro is also sent to Lisbon to try and find Alice.

Things come to a head, at an explosive shootout in a small pousada (hotel). The scene is surreal and gratuitous, and is where the tale begins to unravel. With the goal of retrieving Alice alive, a full scale assault is completely insane. A real pro especially a sniper, would not waste ammo the way Hugo does. In the melee, Staro is hit in the crossfire. Hugo patches her up, and things seem calm, until Alice runs off to find her father, trailed by Eva's goon. Hugo and Anita are not far behind, and when Eva arrives on the scene, the stage is set for an unsettling, but somehow not completely unexpected ending.

Red Siren begins promisingly with a heavy atmosphere of suspense, but in the end, it is only a decent thriller with some timeline issues, and a somewhat unsatisfying resolution, that includes an instant sunset. Various flaws, and items that are not fleshed out, contribute to the impression that the film could have been much better.

3/5 Decent, didn't live up to hype...
  by Mendax (VA)
In and of itself, this movie is a decent straight-forward action flick. The character development is fairly shallow and the plot lacks any real depth; but it's watchable if you just want a quick little story that doesn't require thinking. However, I bought this because of the comparisons the other reviewers made to Leon; don't believe their hype!

The fight scenes in this movie are unrealistic and generally one-sided, it's one of those movies where good defeats the bad and makes it look easy you can watch with the kids. There's a scene in a motel where the hitmen come and cut the power. Our hero, always being prepared, just happened to bring nightvision goggles and picks them off easily whereas the bad guys just shoot around blindly in the dark and manage to miss even with a grenade launcher. Would professional hitmen actually be stupid enough to do this?


Even though it wasn't what I was expecting, I wouldn't say I regret buying it. It's a decent little flick, but Leon this is not. It sounds like the other reviewers just chose this over Leon because they misunderstood the relationship between Leon and Matilda.

4/5 Asia Argento is great!
  by Dancing Ganesha (Northern Hemisphere)
I normally do not like films relating to crime and the sort, and I hardly watch films about children being kidnapped or abducted, as this sort of thing I find rather boring; however, "Red Siren" is something different.

First of all, Asia Argento is in this film, and I will usually view any film starring Argento. Her father is Dario Argento, the famous Italian horror maestro; her mother is Daria Nicolodi, star of many Italian horrors, including those by Bava and Argento.

Asia is very different from most American and even European actresses. She is not afraid to be overly intense and natural in her appearance, which means she values her performances over always looking pretty. I really admire that. She doesn't rely on heavy makeup and hair-dos, and she is real.

Argento really shines in this film, I think it brings out her inner grit and intensity; and I'm glad they didn't dub her in this film either. All in all, I'm giving this film four stars, only because of Argento's great performance and the allure of her persona, which is something that women like myself admire: women of strength and determination, and not afraid to stand out from the crowd. Go Asia! Hope to see you in more films in the upcoming future.

4/5 Asia is not just eye candy!
  by Barry Brandon (Phoenix, AZ)
I like this film and found it fresh and entertaining. Reminds me of the Transporter and thats not a bad thing.
The mother in this movie is one evil hag, makes Cruella De Vil of 101 Dalmatians look like the SpongeBob.
The whole darn cast is great and the action is non stop.
You should check out this thriller.

5/5 Riveting
  by Dean E. Treml (NZ)
I wont prattle on too much, but being a fan of european movies, this english language euro-flick I found captivating, beautifully shot, naturally lit, nice crops and evocative, which will find favor with any photographically orientated people out there. Kind of a Luc Besson "Leon" (The Professional) feel but always a little off centre and keeps you wondering - Don't be fooled into thinking this is an Asia Argento vehicle because she is so prominant on the cover, while I am happy to see Asia wherever possible, she is one of several cogs in this movie which makes it all the better. I would really have to be a cynic to find fault with this movie.