Meet Bazil. A man whose life has been decimated by particularly unfortunate accidents involving armaments; when he was just a boy his father was killed by a mine and, years later, Bazil himself was nearly killed by a stray bullet while being in the ‘wrong place, wrong time’ during a street shootout. Now destitute, Bazil enlists the help of his homeless comrades in his attempt to wreak vengeance on the two arms companies most responsible for his misfortune...

From such unlikely and seemingly dark beginnings a humorous, slapstick caper ensues. Bazil is played with real comic flair by Dany Boon (Joyeux Noël), and the supporting cast all seem to revel in the outlandish aspects of their respective roles. For example, Julie Ferrier positively glows as the temperamental contortionist and love interest in the film, La Môme Caoutchouc, while Omar Sy is simply fantastic as the verbose, over-enthusiastic intellectual of the group, Remington... The list of quirky characters brilliantly portrayed goes on.

The premise and storyline give the film an added depth that elevates it above mere disposable comedy flick – this is, as is billed, a damning satire on the arms trade. It is essentially the film that Lord of War should have been, cleverly couching its criticisms of the armaments industry in an engrossing and amusing plot so as not to alienate the audience with the dreaded feeling that they are being preached at.

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie) manages to keep the tone utterly light-hearted while nonetheless subtly conveying the simmering righteous anger underneath the comedy, and in so doing creates a modern classic.

Aside from the great gags, deft direction, and the Chaplin-esque slapstick at work, what really sets Micmacs apart is the ingenuity and audacity of the writing. The little plans the scheming gang of intrepid avengers concoct are all absolutely incredible and totally original, making for a great spectacle.

The dialogue is first-rate too, although credit must again go to the quality of the delivery which is almost universally hilarious and makes the very most of the material. As for the eventual pay-off, all that can be said without resorting to spoilers is that it exacts the perfect revenge on the antagonists.

Micmacs is a thoroughly enjoyable romp with something important to say and an excellent way of saying it. A tribute to cunning and resourcefulness triumphing over arrogance and wealth. As a weird and wonderful revenge comedy, it makes a brilliant contribution to satire, slapstick, and social commentary, melding all these genres together to produce a true masterpiece.

- Sebastian Clare

P.S. What the hell IS a 'Micmac' though?!