Bastille Day (2016 film)

Bastille Day (film)
Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2016
Founder	James Watkins (director)
Products	Action thriller film
Parent	Anonymous Content, Vendôme Pictures, TF1 Films Production, StudioCanal

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Bastille Day (2016 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 10 August 2025

Bastille Day (titled The Take for North American and international home video release) is a 2016 action thriller co-written and helmed by director James Watkins. This film is a collaborative production between France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, involving companies such as Anonymous Content, Vendôme Pictures, TF1 Films Production, and StudioCanal. The cast features Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Charlotte Le Bon, Eriq Ebouaney, and José Garcia. It debuted in the United Kingdom on 22 April 2016, followed by its French release on 13 July 2016, and later premiered in the United States on 18 November 2016.

Plot

Set in Paris on the night before Bastille Day, Michael Mason, an American drifter skilled in pickpocketing, steals a handbag that contains explosives. After removing cash and a mobile phone from it, he discards the bag, which subsequently detonates and results in four fatalities. When captured by CIA operative Sean Briar, Mason asserts his innocence regarding terrorism and discloses that the phone belongs to Zoé. The bomb was linked to a robbery scheme devised by corrupt officers within the French RAPID special police unit led by Rafi Bertrand, targeting the Bank of France. Zoé refrained from planting the bomb after seeing the risk to innocent lives; her partner Jean, who is involved in the conspiracy, assists her escape.

Tracking Zoé’s phone leads the conspirators to Briar and Mason. After Briar is overpowered and Mason flees, Bertrand’s faction fabricates evidence at a mosque to provoke unrest among France’s Muslim community through social media manipulation. Pursued by both law enforcement and conspirators, Mason joins forces with Briar—now convinced of Mason’s non-involvement—to locate Zoé. They find her via her friend Paul and his motorcycle gang but encounter opposition when the gang sets their vehicle ablaze to facilitate their getaway. Using Paul’s identification taken during a bar altercation, they track down Zoé.

Zoé guides them to Jean’s residence where his dead body is discovered; he was a police officer. Briar informs his colleague Karen Dacre, who contacts DGSI Director Victor Gamieux about placing Mason and Zoé under protective custody. Gamieux is unveiled as the mastermind behind the heist; he murders Dacre and sends assassins after them. The trio narrowly avoids an ambush and heads toward the Bank of France.

Amid protests outside the bank orchestrated by the conspirators, Gamieux deploys Bertrand’s RAPID team inside to execute a cyber-theft of 500 million euros. Briar infiltrates disguised as an officer but is identified. Zoé and Mason spark a riot among demonstrators who storm the bank, enabling Briar to access the vault where he confronts Bertrand. Bertrand escapes with a USB drive containing stolen funds but loses it to Mason during a struggle. Taking Zoé hostage, Bertrand is executed on Gamieux’s orders; Mason escapes with the flash drive.

Subsequently, collaborating with Briar and French authorities, Mason arranges a deceptive meeting with Gamieux to exchange the flash drive for a passport and an escape plan, culminating in Gamieux’s capture.

Cast

Idris Elba as Sean Briar, an agent of the CIA.
Richard Madden as Michael Mason, an American pickpocket residing in Paris.
Charlotte Le Bon as Zoé Naville, an activist opposing fascism.
Kelly Reilly as Karen Dacre, a senior official within the CIA.
José Garcia as Victor Gamieux, head of the DGSI.
Thierry Godard as Rafi Bertrand, a corrupt commander in France’s National Police RAPID Unit.
Anatol Yusef as Tom Luddy, leader of CIA surveillance operations in Paris.
Eriq Ebouaney as Baba, Mason's contact in the black market.
Arieh Worthalter as Jean (Pascal Fibbert).
Stéphane Caillard as Beatrice.

Production

Initially, Pierre Morel was announced as the director on 17 April 2012, but he was subsequently replaced by Morten Tyldum, marking Tyldum’s first project on the international stage. Ben Affleck was originally set to headline the film but had to exit due to conflicts in his schedule, while Tyldum left the project to helm The Imitation Game. On 7 August 2013, Baran bo Odar assumed the director’s role but departed shortly thereafter. By 11 November 2013, Idris Elba had been cast, and Richard Madden joined the ensemble on 2 October 2014. On 18 May 2014, Focus Features secured distribution rights for North America with James Watkins stepping in as director. Filming took place from 13 October until 17 December 2014 in Paris.

Release

StudioCanal originally planned the film’s UK release for 19 February 2016; however, this was postponed after the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. Bastille Day eventually debuted simultaneously across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Sweden on 22 April 2016. In France, its release was timed to align with the story’s timeline on 13 July 2016. Following the tragic truck attack in Nice in 2016, StudioCanal pulled the movie from French cinemas on 17 July 2016 as a gesture of respect toward the victims and their families.

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Bastille Day holds an approval rating of 48% based on a total of 80 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2 out of 10. The critical consensus highlights Idris Elba’s potential as an action lead while noting that the screenplay does not fully capitalize on his abilities. According to Metacritic, the film earned a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 from 16 critics, reflecting mixed or average feedback.

External links