Der Profi

Ein raues afrikanisches Gefängnis bricht ihn nicht, die französische Regierung weiß sich mit ihm nicht zu helfen, der härteste Detektiv in Paris ist ihm ebenfalls nicht gewachsen und alle Frauen in seiner Nähe werden unten herum feucht. Kurz gesagt, der klassische Belmondo in einer seiner bekanntesten Rollen. Keine allzu actionreiche Handlung, eher eine Kriminalgeschichte mit cleverem Inhalt, einem großartigen Casting (Hossein als Bösewicht ist unwiderstehlich), ein paar Schlägereien, netten Sprüchen ("Kommt er ihnen aus dem Schrank wenig zerknittert vor? Ich kann ihn für Sie bügeln.“) und sogar einer ein paar schöne Brüsten. Der Film verfügt einfach über alles. Andererseits, vielleicht bin ich zu alt und mir genügt wenig zum Glück :-) (08.10.2017)

Ich applaudiere für Ennio Morricone und ich klatsche für Jean-Paul Belmondo! Der Profi ist eine Fahrt voller Zitate, Humor und noir Atmosphäre. (21.04.2018)

What happens when you screw Jean Paul Belmondo? You will be captivated by his own gaze at the moment when you least expect it. What happens when Ennio Morricone plays one of his chillingly brilliant compositions? It will fill you with such tension that even the deli slicer in the store around the corner would jam at that speed. What happens when you surround Belmondo with a nice French girl? He will seduce her. Both in the film and in reality. And what happens when you watch most of the French crime films of the 80s? It simply blows you away with its story. So there's no point in commenting on this film any further, because such a film truly is not born every day. (26.03.2012)

The best Jean-Paul Belmondo film, complete with Ennio Morricone's music, perfectly fitting the atmosphere of Paris. The scene where Beaumont finally meets Rosen is unforgettable. I said I would always be right behind you... (04.07.2006)

Jean-Paul Belmondo created his acting reputation and fame precisely with characters of adventurers, detectives, and agents of various kinds, and his character from The Professional is literally the essence of what is typical about Belmondo's acting and what audiences admire. A smart script, dialogue, fights, and a surprising ending. Probably Belmondo's best film. Overall impression: 95%. (19.04.2009)

The archetypal plot premise of cop and villain, very progressive for its time, incorporates an unprecedented and later widely used element that takes these types of films up a notch in quality: the imaginary erasure, or at least partial elimination, of clearly definable good and evil, the absence of a one-sided character profile. Belmondo's character wants to do something bad, but the viewer sympathises and roots for him, while Hossein's character wants to do something good, but his nature makes the viewer dislike him. The Professional works impressively with this clash of two acting and cinematic personas, stylising Belmondo into the role of a rugged hero oscillating on the edge of what is right and wrong. There’s no point addressing that the technical aspects aren’t that good, they are a product of the era. The plot is perhaps a little too stilted at times and the protagonist is too many steps ahead of the others; later films managed to deal with this better. But Belmondo is one of the few unique heroes of the silver screen, where generations will no doubt love his unconventional charm and heroism, interspersed with countless comedic situations and quirks. Revolutionary for its time, nowadays an enjoyable classic that doesn't offend, but won’t impress so much compared to the others. Morricone’s music is perhaps even more famous than the film. (04.11.2017)