Bastille Day

If you want action that respects the story underneath it, Bastille Day is available in Australia on Stan, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Starz Apple TV Channel right now. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 1,547 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Idris Elba brings a physicality to the role that elevates every sequence. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Stan.

There is a reason Bastille Day keeps coming up in conversation. The choreography in Bastille Day serves the story instead of interrupting it. Michael Mason is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself hunted by the CIA when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Briar, the field agent on the case, soon realises that Michael is just a pawn in a much bigger game and is also his best asset to uncover a large-scale conspiracy. The physicality Idris Elba and Richard Madden bring elevates every sequence. Bastille Day came out in 2016. What separates Bastille Day from disposable action entertainment is character work that survives the explosions. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Bastille Day is the kind of thing you put on to unwind and find yourself sitting forward twenty minutes in. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Idris Elba's performance is the throughline that holds the bigger action elements together. Give it twenty minutes and decide — most viewers do not stop there.