Spoiler Warning: The following article contains major spoilers for Ad Vitam. If you’ve yet to watch the 2025 Netflix movie, please go watch it before returning. Well, unless you want major plot points ruined.
Every now and again, a random movie will shoot to the top of the Netflix charts and catch the world by surprise. Not even two weeks into the new year, Ad Vitam became a hit with people with a Netflix subscription and almost instantly became the number-one movie on the platform. Being someone who likes checking out the best action movies in my free time, I made sure to watch this fun and intense French thriller about a former elite cop having to prove his innocence and get back at the men who kidnapped his wife.
Like any good thriller, Ad Vitam was full of so many great twists and turns, including one in the early part of the movie that legitimately caught me by surprise. And now I have to talk about it and why it made an already great action flick into one of the best I’ve seen in quite a while.
Again, major spoilers follow…
Okay, Ad Vitam Is A Fun And Thrilling Action Movie With Some Great Twists
Clocking in at a little over 90 minutes, Ad Vitam is a fast and furious action thriller that wastes little time getting things going with its wild set pieces and intense story about a former gendarme named Franck Lazareff (Guillaume Canet) coming to terms with an incident that led to the death of his best friend, and also led to himself being hunted by a shadowy team of government agents. Seriously, this movie puts the pedal to the metal pretty much from the starting line and doesn’t let off the gas until the credits roll.
Whenever I had a feeling I knew what was going on or tried to anticipate the next step, the movie would throw in another twist and another badass action set piece, leaving me even more excited to see how it would play out. But there was one twist that in particular I think was pulled off better than anything else. Let me explain…
The Reveal That Léo Is A Badass Who Can Handle Her Own Was Incredible
When the masked gunmen broke into Franck and Léo’s (Stéphane Caillard) apartment about 10 minutes into the movie, I thought we were about to see the “damsel in distress” action movie trope again where the hero was going to have to save his pregnant wife from the dastardly villain. And while that’s partly true and Franck is motivated to protect Léo, it’s revealed that she’s a total badass who can handle her own in hand-to-hand combat and with firearms.
Going against conventional action movie wisdom is nothing new for Netflix movies, as Rebel Ridge, one of the best 2024 thrillers, did that wonderfully, but after it seems like she's kept out of the loop on what's going on with her husband up to that point, I was pleasantly surprised to see Léo throwing dudes around, disarming them, and kicking a whole lot of ass, even more so considering she did all of that while eight months pregnant.
Up until this point, because her-backstory hadn't been revealed yet, I had no idea she was capable of fighting like five gunmen at once, which made the scene all the more impactful. Then the movie took a big shift to the past, and it all started to make sense.
The Narrative Structure (Present, Flashback, Present) Worked Perfectly For Léo’s Character, And This Reveal
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest fan of flashbacks, especially those where we spend the majority, or at least a large portion, of a movie showing how things went down in the past. However, the narrative structure of Ad Vitam is absolutely perfect and the whole flashback section makes it an even better movie.
Not only does the flashback to 10 years in the past show us why Franck’s life is so messed up in the present and why he’s no longer a member of the elite squad, but it also focuses a lot of time showing Léo being a headstrong, intelligent, and fiercely independent member of his elite squad (with negotiating skills). Though I do think having a more traditional structure could have worked, director Rodolphe Lauga’s decision to startle the viewer with a her fighting skills at the jump before breaking down who she is, helped Léo’s story tremendously.
Léo Shooting Bad Guys In A High-Speed Chase While Pregnant And Wounded Was Legitimately One Of The Most Badass Things I've Seen
The big chase scene at the end of Ad Vitam is a wild and thrilling spectacle that’s a ton of fun from start to finish, and there’s a lot to love. As much as I love Franck doing the most badass tuck-and-roll out of a speeding car I’ve seen in years and then evading the police with the help of a paraglider, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the few minutes before when Léo is taking dudes out from her seat while pregnant and having a gunshot wound to the arm.
This whole sequence cemented Léo as a grade-A ass-kicker who wasn’t just going to cower and hide to protect herself or her unborn baby. The grace, the skill, and the determination of her actions not only made one of the best car chases even greater, but it added so much to the movie as a whole.
Then Léo, While Caring For A Newborn Baby, Solves The Whole Mystery And Clears Her Husband's Name
After the big shootout and chase sequence, Léo has her baby at the hospital while Franck is taken into custody by authorities. With her husband awaiting trial for crimes he didn’t commit, Léo goes on a quest to clear his name and expose the high-ranking members of the French government who put the plan into motion. Though I wish the movie would have shown more of this, it was wild to think about this deeply devoted wife and police officer going to great lengths to save her husband, all while carrying a newborn around.
This remarkable and gratifying ending tied the bow around Ad Vitam and wrapped things up in a great and fulfilling way. But the thing I liked the most about it all, was the fact that it was Léo who saved the day, both with her physical capabilities but also her keen investigation skills from her years as an elite officer. She’s honestly one of the best female action characters I’ve seen in years.
Overall, Ad Vitam has surely earned a place on the list of best Netflix movies, as well as a great thriller that has all kinds of great twists and turns. While I don’t know if we’ll get a sequel at any point (I can only hope), there are some great upcoming releases on the 2025 movie schedule, including some high-profile action flicks.
If you want to revisit Ad Vitam, you can do so right now as it’s streaming on Netflix.
