Lost Bullet Turns the Renault 21 Into an Action Hero

The first and second installments of the Lost Bullet movies are some of the best, most underrated action stories to recently hit screens. Visceral car chases, fun mods, practical stunts, and bone-crunching, messy brawls characterize French filmmaker Guillaume Pierret’s series. They aren’t massive spectacles like you’d see in the Fast & Furious movies; instead, these car-centric thrillers from France have a bit of a throwback feel, more in line with the gritty realism of movies like Ronin or the Bourne trilogy. These are lean, mean action flicks (with fantastic cars) that do a lot with a little. They’re straightforward, but they’re a hell of a ride.

Stuntman, screenwriter, and actor Alban Lenoir plays Lino, the hero of the Lost Bullet movies, who’s introduced to us in a 2001 Renault Clio 2 that he’s outfitted with a Lamborghini engine. He’s about to rob a jewelry store to help his brother, Quentin (Rod Paradot), get out of debt with some dangerous dudes. But the Lambo engine proves too powerful. Lino intended to use the Clio like a battering ram, breaking down a single wall of the shop; instead, the overpowered supermini hurtles through four layers of reinforced concrete until it winds up in the alleyway behind the shop. As a testament to his virtuosity, though, Lino only suffers a sprained wrist, but he’s trapped in the car while Quentin flees and the cops arrive.

A policeman named Charas (Ramzy Bedia) finds Lino in prison and recruits him to beef up his cop cars. He commands an anti-“go-fast” task force, but his guys can’t keep up with the baddies. Lino is a master mechanic—an artist, really—and in every scene he’s working, he looks like a mad scientist in a lab creating Frankencars that would thrill Max Rockatansky.

Charas thinks of Lino as a magician and gives him free rein with his fleet of police cars, but he refuses to let Lino touch his red Renault 21 2.0-liter turbo. It was “the first interception car used by the force,” Charas explains, proud of his polished machine. He even keeps a model of the Renault 21 turbo police car on his desk—a dark blue car with “gendarmerie” stenciled on its side.

Charas becomes like a father to Lino. (It’s a meaningful choice that Lino’s father also drove a Renault.) He helps him secure an early release and introduces him to their new warehouse, lined with a mess of new cars. The collection features but one model: the Renault Mégane RS. Tragically, dirty cops kill Charas when he discovers their involvement with the drug traffickers he’s been pursuing, and Lino is framed for his murder. The titular “lost bullet” is the projectile that killed Charas, still stuck in the Renault’s dash. It is the only proof of Lino’s innocence.

Thankfully, Lino recovers the car. But in order to make it through the police barricades, he has to defy Charas’ wishes and… make some changes. (In his defense, he does apologize first.) He has to weaponize the Renault, and he gives it spikes. The bonkers mods given to this little family car evoke Mad Max and Death Race 2000, and it looks mean as hell after its transformation, crashing and smashing its way through what appears to be the entire French police force. The bullet trapped within is one last gift from Charas, guaranteeing Lino’s freedom. Like Charas, the Renault helps give Lino a second chance.

In Lost Bullet 2, the Renault is reborn. Lino dusts it off, resurrects it, and paints it blue so that it resembles the toy car that Charas once displayed in his office. Lino still has Charas’ St. Christopher medal—a good luck charm for drivers—and he returns it to its rightful place hanging from the rearview mirror. Charas is an inspiring character, a truly good man among villains, and the Renault comes to represent this ideal, a reminder to Lino to try to be as good as his mentor. But the Renault is as much a living, speeding tribute to Charas as it is a part of Lino now. It is a reflection of who he’s become.

In the first film, Lino had to prove his innocence. In the second, he’s after justice. Unfortunately, this once again pits him against the French police, including Stéfi Celma’s Julia, one of his only allies in the first film and the only driver on the force to rival Lino’s ability. The odds against Lino are even greater, and the action is more intense. It helps that Netflix doubled the budget, which is evident in the film’s bigger brawls and its longer, crazier chases. The mods are wilder, too. This time, Lino furnishes the blue Renault with an electrified harpoon bumper. When it hooks into another car, it blows it up, sending it sky-high in stunts that are mostly practical and done for real with hydraulic cannons. (Worth noting that Lost Bullet 2’s car stunt coordinator is David Julienne, the grandson of Rémy Julienne, French motocross champ and stuntman who worked on The Italian Job.)

Lost Bullet 2 is truly a feature-length showcase for the Renault. Though the French automaker dominates the first movie as well, that cast of cars is a bit more diverse: a 2015 Peugeot 208, a couple of BMWs (a 2000 BMW 3 Touring and a 2004 BMW 5 Touring), a 2000 Ford Fiesta, and a 2003 Ford Mondeo in the mix. But Lost Bullet 2 is almost pure Renault, not only spotlighting Charas’ car but a Trafic, a Scénic 3, a Captur, a Clio 5, a Kadjar, and a Talisman Estate. A 2018 Renault Mégane RS cop car with a bumper protected by a bull bar is featured prominently. (A common cop car in France, the Mégane pops up frequently in these films.) With a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, this hot hatch is powerful and fast. It generates 276 hp and it’s capable of going from 0 to 60 in under 6 seconds. (The Renault 21 Turbo takes closer to 8 seconds.) It’s no surprise it was developed with input from F1 racing driver Nico Hülkenberg.

Compared to the Mégane RS, the Renault 21 is a bit of an old-fashioned underdog, but that makes it just right for Lino, an underdog with a penchant for old-fashioned heroics. Launched in 1986, the Renault 21 succeeded the Renault 18. (Here in the U.S., you may know it as the Renault Medallion.) This was the sporting iteration of Renault’s saloon car, made to rival similar cars like the BMW 325i and the Mercedes 190E 2.3-16. Pierret would’ve preferred the rally version, but couldn’t swing it for budgetary reasons. This Renault is no slouch, though. This is a family car worthy of Formula 1 racing, aerodynamic with excellent handling. The angular French car (a unique shape for its era) may not look like much, but under the hood, it has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine boasting 175 hp with a top speed of 141 mph. If you ever find yourself on the run from the police, it’s a solid getaway car, with or without spikes.

The Renault 21 may feel like an unlikely hero car and action star, but its speed and popularity as a family car make it ideal for the Lost Bullet saga: perfect for both the fatherly Charas and for nimble driver Lino. Though Lost Bullet 2 leaves the little red car’s future… uncertain. It’s such an intrinsic part of the franchise’s DNA that it’s hard to imagine Lino and his beloved Renault won’t be reunited for the inevitable third chapter of their story.

Lost Bullet and Lost Bullet 2: Back for More are both currently streaming on Netflix.

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