The Prime Minister (2016) User Reviews

Mrs President comes to Brussels

[rubenm · 7/10 · 8 November 2016]

Erik Van Looy's film 'De Premier' (The Prime Minister) has a special meaning since election day. It's about what could have been. In this movie, the American president is a woman, travelling to the Belgian capital on a state visit. While she's there, her life is being threatened. It's clear that Van Looy is not a big fan of Donald Trump. Not only did he (sort of) anticipate a Clinton victory, he also inserted Trump's much quoted 'hellhole'-remark about Brussels in the film.

Don't get me wrong: this is not a political film. By no means. It's a thriller, and a very exciting one. In the pre-release promotion material, Van Looy promised us a roller-coaster ride. I must admit: there is no chance of boredom, not for even one millisecond. Right from the start, Van Looy gets the story going. And he doesn't release his grip on the audience until the very end. The story moves ahead as powerful as a cannon ball and as straightforward as a freight train.

The film is about the Belgian prime minister, who is forced to kill the American president. The reason is clear: he is the only one with direct access to the president. The killing is supposed to take place during a private encounter, without any bodyguards around. In order to make him pull the trigger, the villains kidnapped his wife and two young children, and threaten to kill them if he doesn't obey. During the course of a day, the prime minister and his female assistant try everything they can to outsmart the villains, but to no avail. The question who will get killed in the end, keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

There is one weakness: the plot is completely unrealistic. The idea of forcing one government leader to kill another, is in itself grotesque. But halfway through the film, it gets even more ridiculous when the identity of the criminal organization behind the whole set-up is revealed. An awkward piece of dialogue is meant to explain it all, but the suspension of disbelief is stretched to its limits.

On the other hand: once you've accepted this, you're in for an very exciting film. The locations are well chosen, the whole film looks very stylish, and there is no lack of suspense. The actors do a good job: Koen De Bauw as the prime minister mixes despair about the fate of his family with the dignity that comes with the job. But Stijn Van Opstal delivers by far the best acting performance as one of the villains. He is creepy and funny at the same time.

Anyhow, whenever the American president comes to Brussels, this is a nice in-flight movie for him to watch. It will have to be subtitled, because I think the chances of an American remake are limited.

Great suspense, but unsatisfying ending

[Veteransson · 7/10 · 2 January 2017]

De Premier is the first film by Eric Van Looy since 'The Loft', the American adaptation of his own 2007 'Loft'. With 'The Loft' being trashed by American critics, there was a lot at stake when this picture came out. But Eric Van Looy successfully dealt with the past criticism and made an intense, suspenseful thriller, maybe even superior to his 2007 success of 'Loft'. From the first, rainy, shot of the movie on, the tone is set. You immediately feel something bad is about to happen. And the tone of the movie never changes, which is a great accomplishment. Van Looy mentioned that with 'De Premier', he wanted to make his own 'Jaws', meaning that every scene of the movie leaves you in suspense. He succeeded. Koen De Bouw, the Belgian Prime Minister, forced to kill the U.S. President (Saskia Reeves) gives a good performance. He portrays the PM in a credible way, balancing his character between helplessness and resourcefulness. The stand out performance comes from the menacing driver, played by Stijn Van Opstal. He drives the PM around and makes sure he sticks to the plan that was forced up on him. De Premier is almost perfectly directed, with some thrilling scenes, among which a bloody bathroom scene, but has one major issue: the story. First of all, kidnapping the Belgian PM to assassinate the U.S. President isn't the most credible story. But that's OK, since it made me want to watch the movie. The problem with the story is foremost the ending. The ending could have worked, if it didn't completely contradict previous events. With contradict, I don't mean to point out a plot hole or anything of that kind, it's rather that the ending doesn't match the overall suspenseful and menacing tone of the movie. The movie also tries to explain why the Belgian PM was chosen to assassinate the President and came up with some clear arguments. I just didn't buy them. If it wasn't for the great directing throughout the movie, I might have felt cheated by the ending. Nevertheless, this movie is most certainly worth your time, you'll enjoy the suspense but don't expect a satisfying climax.

Pretty average film apart from one actor, Stijn Van Opstal

[scoobynutta · 5/10 · 3 January 2018]

De Premier aka 'President Under Siege' is a fairly average Euro effort. The main lead of the film is fairly wooden. The plot itself is fairly straightforward yet unconvincing. Implausibility aside, there was a role in the film played by Stijn Van Opstalthat (The Driver) which I thought was outstanding. Bags of charisma and he commanded every scene he was in. I'd like to see much more of him. Aside from this performance the rest of the film is not really worth watching.

a nice movie to watch while knitting a sweater

[myriamlenys · 7/10 · 27 July 2017]

First the bad : the idea behind the movie is pretty implausible. Sadly, this lack of credibility permeates all aspects of the movie - intrigue, script, everything and anything. The people on the screen may be acting up to and above the call of duty, the viewer sits there and thinks : watch out for the sequel, when the dog of the Belgian prime minister will marry the Pope.

There are also a number of clichés, such as the moment where the Bad Guy addresses his victim in order to explain his motivation slowly and clearly. Sadly, the motivation consists of pseudo-geopolitical claptrap worthy of a lesser Bond movie. (You know the drill : "If I can get Monaco to drop an atom bomb on Paris, then Iceland will have no choice but to attack Greece. Meanwhile, the famished hordes of China will acclaim me as their new emperor".) The claptrap was also pretty insulting to the USA and its foreign policy, although it should be noted that there exist segments of the said policy which are fully capable of insulting themselves.

The movie's ending is strangely sloppy and rushed, as if someone somewhere had heard the ringing of an only-five-minutes-before-the-end- of-the-competition alarm. One can imagine cooks rushing left and right through a kitchen, quickly throwing some food on a plate - and never mind the endive salad or the Parmesan dressing.

Still, the movie is not without its charms. The acting is pretty decent ; the locations are suitably sinister, grand or iconic ; no expense was spared on the production values ; and the images are particularly beautiful and crisp.

I found myself strangely fascinated by the end credits, which were as long as the Ganges and contained some of the most original names I have seen in a long time. I need to get out more often.

Suspense & Suspension of Disbelief

[Coventry · 6/10 · 12 June 2019]

"The Prime Minister" is the type of fast-paced crime/thriller that delivers copious amounts of action and suspense, however, it simultaneously also requires an almost complete suspension of disbelief on behalf of the viewer. If, and only if, you manage to turn off your skepticism regarding the overall story and the near-ludicrous plot-twists, the film will provide fantastic and non-stop entertainment. In case you swear by realism, don't even bother to press the play-button.

Writer/director Erik Van Looy is, in Flanders at least, a well-respected and much-loved media figure. He's the host of the most popular quiz on prime-time TV, appears in the panel of several games and talk shows and the films he directed ("De Zaak Alzheimer", "Loft") rank among the biggest blockbusters in history. His American adventure to direct a remake of "Loft" perhaps didn't work out as successful as he might had hoped, but he certainly returned to Belgium with a typically "Hollywoodian" idea for a crowd-pleasing and intense thriller. Our national pride in acting, Koen De Bouw, stars as the Belgian Prime Minister. There goes the plausibility already, in fact, because this country never had such a charismatic and eloquent prime minister. On his way to a European-American summit in Brussels, he is kidnapped and learns that his family - wife and two children - are held hostage, and that they will be executed if the Prime Minister himself doesn't agree to murder the American President during their private meeting in the afternoon.

Great aspects include a handful of totally unexpected but seriously vile and brutal execution sequences, the clever references towards actual Belgian politicians and the sadistic role of Stijn Van Opstal as the driver. I previously only knew him as an adequate but inconspicuous supportive actor in local TV-series ("Tabula Rasa", "Met Man en Macht"), but he deeply impresses here as the downright evil and unscrupulous terrorist who enjoys torturing, humiliating and provoking the Prime Minister and his PR-assistant. Even with a fair portion of suspension of disbelief, there are still a couple of major defaults. Van Looy unnecessarily adds melodrama to the plot with a typically cliched twist regarding the Minister's private life. And, surely, the climax could have been slightly better? I appreciate that Van Looy didn't turn his protagonist into a bona fide action hero, like Harrison Ford in "Air Force One", but there must have been other options to avoid such an anti-climax?

No subtitles in UK release in at least 15mins of foreign language

[kristian-leech · 6/10 · 7 August 2020]

I watched the first 15mins and there was not one English word, and no subtitles. Maybe that changed later on but if I do not need to know what the actors are saying, there's little point them saying it perhaps. Various discussions about the daughter, and their day ahead, maybe one of them is 'in on it'... who knows, as it was all Dutch to me. Gave up.

Crime Minister

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 6/10 · 1 November 2021]

I so wanted to enjoy this.

I loved Koen De Bouw in Professor T and after being a bit let down with him only being a support actor in Red Light, I found this which was from the same era as P. T. with him looking rather similar.

Eventually, I found a version with English subtitles which was a help (perhaps they were hard to find as some of it was in English anyway).

Seeing a few guest stars from P. T. was a boost but the film itself was a let down and a beyond credibility but at least, unlike many films and TV shows here in the UK, it wasn't plastered with political correctness (so tired at mandatory same-sex relationships and a higher than average number of ethnic minorities in shows these days).

The music brought some suspense but unfortunately it didn't reflect the poor scenes on screen. So disappointed. Off to watch The Team now. Koen has a small role but hope his character has gravitas.

B class movie with a bit of naive screenplay

[jacekkajeden · 3/10 · 22 October 2017]

This movie is a typical B class movie made with A class budget. Screenplay is naive to say the least - some may call it daft. There are massive holes in logic behind portrayed heroes and action takes swings from bad to worse. As in all B class movies villains use all super-tech gear, yet are equipped with IQ hovering around lower 60s - enough to speak to people but not enough intelligence for their actions to make any sense. If you have two hours to waste or have guests that you do not like, treat them or yourself with this "movie".

Bland, unrealistic with wooden performances

[bosmans-maxime · 3/10 · 14 June 2022]

Erik van Looy is one of Belgiums most beloved celebrities. He hosts the popular show De Slimste Mens (The Smartest Man) and is famous for his eccentric laugh. As a moviemaker his biggest succes were Loft and The Memory of a Killer, with the Belgian Robert De Niro: Jan Decleir.

This movie however triumphs in stupidity and cringeworthyness. The plot is full of holes, the protagonist acts like a wooden stick, and dialogues seem to be written by five year olds. I watched this film twice, it even being worse the second time around.

The only positive part about the film is the performance of the driver, who is able to bring a little smile on your face once in a while.

3/10, for Stijn Van Opstal. Without him, it would be 1/10.

Strong plot

[vicidevloo · 9/10 · 8 November 2016]

I did not expect too much from this film, but I was pleasantly surprised. Erik Van Looy did a good job on this one. The film takes you on a ride, right from the start, no boring moments. The superb acting from Koen De Bouw makes it very interesting to watch. You will have to guess until the end where the plot is going. 10 minutes before the end, I thought I would be disappointed with how I thought it would end,- because I don't like open, half finished ends,- but they did manage to give it a proper ending, good! If you don't like bloody, raw films, this is probably not the one to watch for you. Otherwise, go and watch this one!

Bad ending / good ending

[gonbazan · 5/10 · 26 July 2020]

De Premier is a good thriller that will keep you well entertained for almost two hours. It's not the kind of movie that you will remember for your entire life neither has that intention. It has some good actings and some situations feels a little bit hard to believe. But ok, I'm willing to concede it.

The main thing with this movie was THE ENDING.

***MAJOR SPOILER INCOMING:*** Looks like the writers were in a rush when they wrote the following ending: The whole situation of a Prime Minister trying to kill a US President was solved by almost a hand shaking between the victimns and the criminals. "Let us keep this in secret" was the feeling right after POTUS life was threated by a gun in her head. "Call me" says POTUS to the Prime Minister, something that the criminals has missed. Yes, the very same criminals that could even read their notepad in their computers. After that the Prime minister reveals the kidnapping and the kidnappers, and with the help of POTUS the criminals get caught and the movie ends with a "happy ever after" with the PM playing in his house with his family safe and well guarded by some security guys.

But a big "BUT": The very last picture of the movie shows us the Prime Minister playing with his family and a out-of-focus security guy. A few seconds later the focus changes from the prime minister to the gun of the security guard. And I don't think this was a meaningless picture. Considering that the attack was orchested by the POTUS chief of security himself, in some way I feel that this very last image tell us that the actions of the Prime Minister will not remain without consequences.

And I think that it gives a little bit of "reality" to an ending that initially looks so hard to believe.

5/10

Waste of time

[ppp-sa · 1/10 · 26 March 2017]

Without a doubt the most unrealistic story ever to feature in a movie. An episode of Scooby-Doo has more suspense then this movie. An episode of Family Guy is more realistic then this movie. The family of the prime minister is kidnapped and will be released if the prime minister kills the president of the United States. When the prime minister fails to comply to anything they tell him too they still release the hostages. 2 hours of pure time waste and a whole lot of money waste.

Dumb, smug and way too cheap.

[daniel-mannouch · 4/10 · 2 August 2019]

President Under Siege, originally known as The Prime Minister is a Belgium political thriller from 2016 written and directed by Erik Van LOOY. It's about the prime minister of Brussels being forced to kill the president of the United States or his family will get killed by a bunch of queeny mercenaries.

Even though it ended with a happy ending, like all fairy tales do, President Under Siege seems to be nothing more than a depressing Dogma 95' era European drama shoved into a very Hollywood thriller, in that it is both high octane and incredibly special in it's needs, like needing a bigger budget.

The villains possess sci-fi gadgetry like in the fast and the furious films, their motivations are flimsy and laughably vapid. This mixture of arthouse and blockbuster never gels. The low-fi aspect of the production values make the improbability of the plot all that more evident. This small time Brussels effort simply doesn't have enough money to make you take it seriously.

You couple this with the aforementioned overbearingly sinister henchmen, the off tone fantastical plot and even some potential misogyny, what you get is a film that is either a convoluted fable about adultery or an overreaching high concept thriller that tried to cover up it's lack of resources with a fake realist aesthetic that comes off as an incredibly stupid stylistic choice due to the overblown plot.

The few things that you can say good about this film, and the reason why i'm not rating it lower that i really want to, is that the cinematography is good and that the screenplay evidently had a lot of passion put into it, albeit a chintzy and sadistic passion.

President Under Siege is a muddling Belgium political thriller that simply has no idea what it wants to do. Oh the irony.

Could very well be Van Looy's best movie

[willemvanlishout · 8/10 · 17 December 2016]

The good: high pace, exciting, 2 hours of hard suspense. Decent (but not overwhelming) acting performances. Dark, grim atmosphere throughout the whole movie. I didn't get bored for a second. Many similarities to De Zaak Alzheimer, but with an even higher tempo.

The not so good: bad, sometimes even corny plot twists. Certain things were just too unrealistic and could have been done better. It seems to me that either they had to cut the movie to fit within 120 minutes or they were out of money. The ending was disappointing, compared to the rest of the film.

It does make me think about how a situation like this would play out in real life. Let's hope that it never comes to that.

Iit's a Shame ! E una vergogna!

[yspahiu · 1/10 · 23 March 2020]

This film is the shame of the history of cinematography. Not even Jules Verne wouldn't have had such a fantasy !! Questo film e la vergogna della storia della cinematografia .Neanche Jules Verne avrebbe avuto una simile fantasia!!

Nice propaganda try

[heretic369 · 2/10 · 24 January 2019]

But honestly.. who would ever believe our EU bureaucRATS have any kind of backbone, less so stand up in any kind of intrique/kidnapping or other plot. The stupid ending just cements this as more of a sad comedy, than anything else.

A thrilling journey of 1 decisive bullet

[jarno-maertens · 9/10 · 18 January 2017]

This new movie from director Erik Van Looy is honestly one of the most well made movies ever made in Belgium. It takes the usual Belgian movie tropes but also adds a lot of American influences. There are a lot of unexpected twists that add to the social commentary of the current political climate. Besides this, the performance from main lead Koen De Bouw is astounding. Together with the amazing soundtrack the movie has a lot of suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat, never checking my phone or anything. You are really enthralled into the story. The best character in the movie is by far the Driver who is not all that meets the eye. In the end this is a really well made thriller suitable for a wide audience that will grip you till the end.

Credibility of a Movie in a foreign language

[rene-124-236351 · 8/10 · 7 December 2016]

My girlfriend (43 years) left the movie (crying) around minute 43 (I can be more specific about the fragment, if needed, but I supported her by leaving together). She couldn't anymore make the difference between "reality and fiction". Before you shall say "Your poor Belgian people", see the movie and evaluate it. Although I have to say that "some special moments" are typical for our Country (which I love = those fragments :-). Therefore I went a second time without her, to watch the whole scene. This is contributed to the "regisseur Erik Van Looy". Before the end of my 10 lines of text, which are needed for your "automatic machine" to cope with my "humble opinion", I shall produce more inappropriate text, like "this movie was sponsored by our government for 5 mio euro's", which is also the budget for 1 moment of a typical soap series... The main actor (Koen De Bouw) declared that the most difficult part of 56 days of takes, was to be believed in his anxiousness. Also therefore, my girlfriend left the movie at half :-) René Steurs, out of Belgium.