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Chien 51: What to think of the sci-fi thriller starring Adèle Exarchopoulos?
After starring in Beating Hearts and Planet B in 2024, then in Quentin Dupieux’s latest feature The Piano Accident, currently out in theatres, Adèle Exarchopoulos has participated in a series of new projects. The French actress is now playong the lead character in Cédric Jimenez’s sci-fi thriller Chien 51. Is this ambitious project worth watching?
Chien 51, a sci-fi thriller starring Adèle Exarchopoulos
Five years after Bac Nord (The Stronghold), in which she powerfully portrayed a police officer about to become a mother, Adèle Exarchopoulos reunites with director Cédric Jimenez for another major project. The Marseille-born filmmaker, also behind The Connection (2014) and November (2022), now dives into a dystopian narrative taking place in Greece and France with Chien 51, an adaptation of a futuristic novel by Laurent Gaudé published in 2022.
Originally considered for a nomination in Cannes, the sci-fi thriller ultimately found a home at the Venice Film Festival. Chien 51 was screened as the closing film of the 82nd edition of the festival, held from August 27th to September 6th, 2025. A spectacular way to build anticipation regarding this ambitious feature. Adèle Exarchopoulos appears as a badass cop with a brown bob, navigating a futuristic Paris under the control of an all-powerful artificial intelligence.
Gilles Lellouche and Louis Garrel in the cast
With a budget nearing 50 million euros, the film boasts other major names in French cinema. Actor Gilles Lellouche plays an insomniac detective, who teams up with Adèle Exarchopoulos, while Louis Garrel portrays a terrorist/guru and Romain Duris embodies a politician in over his head.
Set in a futuristic Paris divided into three zones – each inhabited by a different social class – the film promised a hard-hitting, visually striking reflection on the dangers of artificial intelligence. Indeed, director Cédric Jimenez explores how AI revolutionises police work by ensuring public safety, until the system becomes harmful and morphs into something terrifying and uncontrollable.
A dystopian feature about the dangers of AI
While the action scenes are quite stunning – especially the high-speed chase in a packed, futuristic nightclub or the attack by killer drones – and some moments are undeniably pleasant, such as the karaoke scene that recreates the feel of a concert hall, the film’s real strength lies in its cast. Adèle Exarchopoulos and Gilles Lellouche carry the film on their shoulders, excelling both in action and deeply emotional sequences.
Yet, Chien 51 falls short of rising to the level of masterpiece of that genre, like Blade Runner (1982), whose visual beauty remains unmatched to this day. In the realm of dystopian cinema, the American film industry has already produced so many brilliant benchmarks that it’s difficult for this French production to truly compete.
Chien 51 by Cédric Jimenez, coming out in theatres on October 15th, 2025.
