Highlights
- “Lost Bullet” is a French action movie that shares many similarities with Grand Theft Auto, including intense car action sequences and conflicts with the police.
- The film captures the chaotic and destructive driving gameplay of GTA, with characters driving recklessly and causing havoc on the roads.
- Despite its generic storyline, “Lost Bullet” delivers a satisfying experience with a morally conflicted protagonist and plenty of explosive action, making it a great choice for GTA fans looking for similar content.
It has been ten long years since the last installment of Grand Theft Auto was released, and in that huge stretch of time, fans have been desperately awaiting news about the next installment. Hope finally arrived very recently, as Rockstar announced that the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 would be released into the world in December of 2023.
After the excruciating wait, GTA fans finally have a glimmer of hope to cling to. In the window before the trailer releases, fans are sure to be champing at the bit for GTA content more ferociously than ever before. For those looking to satisfy that urge, the French action movie Lost Bullet might be exactly what they’re looking for.
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GTA Fans will Enjoy Lost Bullet
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Director |
Guillaume Pierret |
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Writer |
Guillaume Pierret, Alban Lenoir, Kamel Guemra |
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Cast |
Alban Lenoir, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Ramzy Bedia, Stéfi Celma |
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Release Date |
June 19, 2020 |
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Runtime |
93 minutes |
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Rotten Tomatoes Score |
78% |
Lost Bullet is a French action movie about a thief and mechanic named Lino, who is capable of souping up cars to ridiculous levels of power and durability. After he plows through four walls of concrete in an attempt to rob a store, he is sent to prison. Lino is soon given the opportunity to engineer police cars for Charas, a detective, and the two bond as Lino works. Charas gets Lino a garage to work in and a pardon, but things take a turn for the worse when Areski, a corrupt cop, kills Charas and frames Lino for the crime. Areski leads a group of crooked cops and had to dispose of Charas, who was beginning to catch onto their illegal activity.
Things look bleak for Lino until he realizes that the bullet used to kill Charas would still be somewhere in the car Charas was in when he was shot. Lino deduces that if he can get the bullet back to the police station, the forensics team will be able to trace the bullet back to Areski’s gun. Lino sets out on a mission to find the car and make it back in one piece, all while evading the actively searching police.
Lost Bullet isn’t particularly deep in the story or character departments, but the action is beautiful and abundant. In spite of the generic narrative, the film still feels deeply satisfying to watch, seeing Lino attempt to change and bring his engineering skills full circle. The movie is available to stream on Netflix, both with English dubbing and in the original French.
Similarities between GTA and Lost Bullet
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Grand Theft Auto: |
Lost Bullet: |
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Destructive driving gameplay |
Intense, chaotic car action sequences |
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Gameplay focus on vehicle upgrades |
Plot revolves around powering up cars |
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Gameplay revolves around looming presence of police |
Plot revolves around conflict with police |
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Morally conflicted protagonists |
Morally conflicted protagonist |
Lost Bullet is a fun and entertaining movie all on its own, but what really sets it apart here is the massive amount of conceptual overlap the film has with Grand Theft Auto. At their core, both pieces of media are about explosive action, cool cars, casts of colorful criminals, and copious amounts of public destruction. Lost Bullet does a great job of mirroring not only the main story elements of Grand Theft Auto, but the portrayal of chaos and violence as well. Perhaps the most iconic way to play GTA is to get with a few friends and do as much damage as possible in the free-roam mode, and in many ways Lost Bullet feels like that experience put into film.
Grand Theft Auto would quite literally be nothing without the car component. Driving is incredibly fun due to how fast-paced and reckless it is. Players can get a sense of what it’s like to drive in a way that is never realistically possible in real life, going a hundred miles per hour on city roads and ramming right through stoplights. It gives a feeling of being completely unencumbered, free to drive any way, go anywhere, do anything. There’s no law that can put a stop to the fun, at least no law that can’t be outrun. And, of course, that means stealing cars is fair game, leading to the wonderful process of constantly swapping vehicles to find something bigger, faster, more durable.
Lost Bullet similarly revolves around cars, and the result is incredibly fun. Characters drive as if they have nothing to lose, since they’re already wanted anyway. Upgrades are taken to the next level here, as rather than just going from car to car, Lino instead modifies his mentor’s car to become a one-engine army. Equipping his vehicle with hooks, battering rams, and bullbars, he tears his way through an entire police blockade, even hooking one car to use as a shield for incoming bullets.
This is just one of the many insane driving set pieces present in the film, calling to mind immediately the beautiful havoc of Grand Theft Auto. Drivers in Lost Bullet bash into each other at high speeds, rig cars to explode, run combatants over, and engage in on road shootouts. Characters are sent flying through windshields, instantly calling to mind the rag doll physics which accompany the iconic wasted screen. And as his final challenge, Lino must pilot his car back to the police station as it is on fire. It is a scene very reminiscent of the most intense moments from GTA, where the player has the police on their tail and must keep their vehicle moving as it falls further and further apart.
This conflict with the police is one of the most central to both GTA and Lost Bullet. The police in GTA are a constant threat, always looming even if not always visible. They factor into every decision the player makes. There is no safety even with no wanted stars, because acquiring them is all too easy. Any slip up gets those voices on the radio going. And once that wanted status has been obtained, there can never be any rest. The stress that the police’s presence provides is a huge part of the fun of GTA, and the same energy is carried over into Lost Bullet. The film’s pace is accelerated by the need for Lino to keep moving. Both the game series and film are made better for the cat and mouse dynamic; it’s just more fun to break the rules when the enemy could be anywhere.
Finally, Grand Theft Auto is famous for featuring protagonists who certainly couldn’t be called heroes, but who end up endearing players to them anyway. Objectively, these characters are criminals and murderers, self-serving scum all too willing to hurt others to get what they’re after. They always just have some aspect to them that keeps them from being completely beyond redemption, however. Whether they’re truly down on their luck, or have those special few people they’ll always be there for, or even if they’re just not quite as detestable as the enemies they’re up against, there’s something about these characters that gets fans rooting for them at least a little bit.
Lost Bullet goes for the exact same thing. Lino is not a squeaky clean person. He ends up in jail for a reason, after all. He’s a seasoned thief and is all too willing to hurt or kill other people if they stand in his way. However, he’s not completely devoid of humanity, avoiding killing his opponents if he can manage it and caring deeply for his friends. What’s more, he seems genuinely capable of change and is legitimately innocent of the crime he’s been accused of. It’s impossible to not root for him, at least enough to clear his name and avenge his friend. If GTA fans are after something to satisfy them until the GTA 6 trailer comes out, Lino’s story would be an excellent one to tune into.
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