Tell-Tale Signs You're Watching A Luc Besson Film

Those familiar things in a Besson

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1.

Lucy (out today) is the new film from Luc Besson. It is the stupidest film you will ever see, but that's by-the-by, what actually matters is that it contains many of the elements that we know, love and recognise as being a part of Besson's arsenal of familiar movie tropes. Yes, as a film-maker, Luc doesn't stray too far from his tried-and-tested, crowd-pleasing methods (until the end of Lucy, anyway), so to celebrate his unwillingness to deviate from the fail-safe, we thought we'd celebrate those tropes and make sure you're aware of the ten ways you know you're watching a Luc Besson film.

Oh, and when we say 'a Luc Besson film' we're talking about films he's either written or directed...

2.Some or all of it is set in France

See: Kiss Of The Dragon, The Family, 3 Days To Kill, The Transporter, From Paris With Love

3.There is a corrupt cop somewhere

See: Kiss Of The Dragon, Leon: The Professional, Taken

4.There is a strong female lead who is adept at shooting guns and beating up men

See: Lucy, Columbiana, Bandidas, Leon: The Professional, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

5.Someone is doing martial arts (usually for no reason)

See: Kiss Of The Dragon, The Transporter 1-3, District 13, Unleashed

6.You never fear for the safety of the lead character

See: Taken, The Transporter 1-3, Kiss Of The Dragon, Unleashed, Lockout

7.There's a bit of parkour thrown in for good measure

See: District 13, District 13: Ultimatum, Yamakasi, Brick Mansions

8.There is an adult protecting a child

See: The Transporter 1 & 3, The Fifth Element (to an extent), Taken, Leon: The Professional, Lockout

9.There's an old dude killing people

See: Taken, Taken 2, Leon: The Professional, 3 Days To Kill, 22 Bullets (producer only)

10.Someone has LOADS of mascara on

See: The Transporter 2 & 3, Nikita, Kiss Of The Dragon

11.It has a taxi in it

See: The Fifth Element, Taxi, Taxi 2, Taxi 3, Taxi 4, Taxi (remake)

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