Fans of wacky French director Jeunet, the man behind such mini-classics as Delicatessen and Amélie, know what to expect from his work at this point, and Micmacs doesn't disappoint.
Although the film's first act is so whimsical that it nearly becomes too precious, this story about a man with a bullet lodged in his skull who decides to get revenge against the arms dealer who manufactured the bullet – as well as the competing arms dealer whose ordnance killed his father when he was a child – soon picks up after the man is adopted by a carnival troupe-like collection of oddballs, each with his or her own offbeat talent.
This is a caper comedy in the Mission: Impossible mold, where crafty teamwork and elaborate schemes are the source of all the fun. Micmacs is one huge Rube Goldberg contraption of a movie, thought the plot itself is easy to follow and there is plenty of humor to speed things along.
If you can get past the extreme quirkiness of the first 15-20 minutes, a wholly satisfying (if still quirky) movie with a surprisingly serious message awaits you. I enjoyed Micmacs very much. But if you were annoyed by the style of Amélie and Jeunet's City of Lost Children then this movie is not for you.