''XIII: The Conspiracy'' is a 2008 Franco-Canadian television film in two parts, based on
the eponymous graphic novel series by Belgian authors
Jean Van Hamme
Jean, knight Van Hamme (born 16 January 1939) is a Belgian novelist and comic book writer. He has written scripts for a number of Belgian/French comic series, including ''Histoire sans héros'', ''Thorgal'', ''XIII'' and ''Largo Winch''.
Biogr ...
and
William Vance
William van Cutsem (8 September 1935 – 14 May 2018), better known by his pen name William Vance, was a Belgian comics artist known for his distinctive realistic style and work in Franco-Belgian comics.
Biography
William van Cutsem was born i ...
, about an
amnesia
Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...
c protagonist who seeks to discover his concealed past. The film served as a pilot for ''
XIII: The Series'', which aired on television in 2011.
The film was directed by
Duane Clark
Duane Bradley Clark (born July 16, 1963) is an American–Canadian television director, producer and screenwriter. He is the son of television personality Dick Clark and his second wife, Loretta Martin.
He attended the film program at UCLA, wh ...
, stars
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...
and
Stephen Dorff
Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Roland West in the third season of HBO's crime drama anthology series ''True Detective'', PK in '' The Power of One'', Stuart Sutcliffe in ''Backbe ...
, and was produced by Prodigy Pictures and Cipango Films. It was first broadcast in France in October 2008 by
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
; followed by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
in the USA in February 2009; by
Nine
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
in Australia (as ''The Conspiracy'') in November 2009; and by
Five
5 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
5, five or number 5 may also refer to:
* AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era
* 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era
Literature
* ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram
* ''5'' (comics), an awa ...
in the United Kingdom in December 2009 (where it was shown as a single feature instead of in two parts).
Plot
The first female
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
, Sally Sheridan, (
Mimi Kuzyk
Mimi Kuzyk (born February 21, 1952) is a Canadian actress.
Early life
Kuzyk was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Fred and Kay Kuzyk, both of whom are Ukrainian immigrants, and received her early education at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School. Sh ...
) is killed by a sniper during her speech at
Veterans Day
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than di ...
. Her assassin narrowly escapes after a shoot out involving a shadowy figure named La Mangouste (
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer (born December 31, 1959) is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer found fame after appearances in comedy films, starting with ''Top Secret!'' (1984) and ''Real Genius'' (1985), as well as the military action film ...
) or "The Mongoose". Three months later in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
, an elderly couple discover a young man (
Stephen Dorff
Stephen Hartley Dorff Jr. (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor. He is known for portraying Roland West in the third season of HBO's crime drama anthology series ''True Detective'', PK in '' The Power of One'', Stuart Sutcliffe in ''Backbe ...
) who lies wounded above on a tree in a parachute. He cannot remember his past and the only clue to his identity is a numerical tattoo on his chest, "XIII", the
Roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
for 13.
Meanwhile, in the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, a joint intelligence task force led by Colonel Amos (
Greg Bryk
Gregory Michael Bryk (born 19 August 1972) is a Canadian film and television actor. He has appeared in numerous films and television series and is best known for his reoccurring roles in ''ReGenesis'' (2004–2008), '' XIII: The Series'' (201 ...
) is frantically conducting the search for the President's killer. With the
presidential elections
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pr ...
just weeks away, a confirmed suspect could swing the vote for the incumbent administration. Regaining his health, XIII searches for more information about the imprint on his body using the couple's home computer. This leads to his location being picked up by the
NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collectio ...
and in no time at all a squad of elite special forces swarm the couple's house in
Cape Fear, killing them both. XIII takes out the soldiers one by one. While on the run in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, he befriends Sam (
Caterina Murino
Caterina Murino (born 15 September 1977) is an Italian actress. She began her acting career in the 1999 production of the play '' Richard III'' and later made her breakthrough with the 2004 film '' The Corsican File''. She went on to appear in t ...
), a photo shop owner who helps identify for him a woman in a photo he carries.
Here he attempts to access a memory card found on his person in the hopes of discovering his identity and unknowingly initiates its tracking program. As a result, rogue
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
agents track him down at the woman's abandoned apartment, but he fights them off and escapes back to his place where La Mangouste captures him. XIII later awakens to find himself restrained inside a truck where La Mangouste demands to know who he has spoken to. He also reveals to XIII that he is also a part of the conspiracy having been branded "XII". Escaping out of his hands XIII returns to Sam where she informs him that the design on his chest refers back to the ancient
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
wherein
secret societies
A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...
would brand members loyal to their cause. She then gives him some photos that Kim (
Jessalyn Gilsig
Jessalyn Sarah Gilsig (born November 30, 1971) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles as Lauren Davis in ''Boston Public'', Gina Russo in ''Nip/Tuck'', Terri Schuester in ''Glee'', and as Siggy Haraldson in ''Vikings''.
Early life ...
), the woman in the photo, had developed there, which convinces him to head upstate to Kellownee Valley.
Meanwhile, government intelligence has identified XIII from video surveillance as Steven Rowland and plasters his face all over the media to weed him out. He turns up at Kim's house in Kellownee Valley where she, along with her father, General Carrington (
Stephen McHattie
Stephen McHattie Smith (born February 3, 1946)Other sources cite 1945, 1947, and 1948. is a Canadian actor. Since beginning his professional career in 1970, he has amassed over 200 film and television credits. He won the Genie Award for Best Sup ...
) and Jones, a
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
operative, have been waiting for him. He learns that he was a former special ops agent who underwent facial reconstruction surgery and placed undercover assuming Rowland's identity. The goal of his assignment was to flush out a group of fascists plotting a coup to overthrow the American government whom Rowland had unwittingly been recruited for. Ensconced within the highest echelons of power, the conspirators run their
own security agency alongside the government's.
During this time, Amos and his agents have the house surrounded and move in along with La Mangouste who fires at XIII, but misses and kills Kim instead. The only way now for XIII to get his own life back is to play bait, which is a dangerous game now since he still doesn't know who he really is. A televised presidential debate is interrupted to broadcast that XIII has been captured.
Amos has XIII wired up and tortured in order to extract a confession out of him, but his pleas that he is not really Rowland are met with incredulity. He is taken back to his holding cell and while there it is discovered from his X-rays that he has had reconstructive surgery and that his military file is classified. Inside his cell he meets another member of the conspiracy, "XIV", who attempts to silence him once and for all, but he escapes with the help of Jones. Due to Amos's incompetence, he is suspended from the investigation and President Galbrain (
John Bourgeois) authorizes Calvin Wax (Jonathan Higgins), the
White House Chief of Staff, to take over.
Meanwhile, XIII and Jones are transported to an NSA
safehouse
A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor.
Histori ...
where Carrington reveals XIII's true identity as Ross Tanner. He shows him photos of his wife and daughter whom he lost in the
sarin gas
Sarin (NATO designation GB G-series, "B"">Nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for Nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic synthetic organophosphorus compound.[Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...]
, which was one reason he originally accepted the mission. Carrington also reveals to him that Col. Jack McCall (
Scott Wickware
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saskat ...
) had previously supervised the paramilitary unit Rowland was involved with that orchestrated the foreign attacks at home and abroad in
Haditha
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Inbound3292807512093856589نواعير حديثة.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption ...
, Iraq and that he had believed that the next major target of attack would coincide with the upcoming elections.
XIII and Jones then travel to a decommissioned facility in northern
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
and here XIII witnesses McCall in a teleconference exchange with Wax and accosts him. He attempts to determine the location of the attack, but McCall commits suicide. XIII then seizes everything McCall had on hand. Back at the safehouse, he and Jones evaluate the evidence, which points to a nuclear strike on election day at a
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
polling station and inform Carrington, who gets into a heated exchange with Amos, after he accuses him of involvement in the cover up. Simultaneously, Wax observes Amos and Carrington together, and orchestrates Carrington's arrest on suspicion of high treason.
Later, XIII and Jones research online about Jasper Winthrow, CEO of Standard Electronics, of which a subsidiary company is Stratus Dynamics, the second largest military contractor in the world. Jones mentions that Sheridan's plan to scale down America's presence in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and cut billions from the
defense budget
A military budget (or military expenditure), also known as a defense budget, is the amount of financial resources dedicated by a state to raising and maintaining an armed forces or other methods essential for defense purposes.
Financing militar ...
would be bad for Winthrow's business. XIII then notices a logo of one of Winthrow's subsidiary companies, Ardent Glass (AG), which he recalls seeing previously. Thus, XIII and Jones travel to AG's former factory in
Petersburg,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, where the conspirators have scheduled a meeting. He gets into a fight with La Mangouste and kills him.
Back at the safehouse, XIII identifies the people who he saw at the meeting and tells Jones he overheard them make an enigmatic reference to the location that pinpoints the target as
Bethesda, Maryland. Amos then shows up at the safehouse after Carrington had sent him to find out the truth from Jones and XIII. Together they organize to thwart the plot.
XIII and Jones head to Maryland where he confronts the woman delivering the bomb and stops her.
Wally Sheridan, the assassinated President's brother, wins the national elections. XIII then confronts Wax in his office who claims that it is only the beginning before he kills himself. Carrington is released from prison and Sheridan reveals in a press conference the details of the plot and those behind it. He later meets with XIII and thanks him for his service.
However while in Japan, XIII and Jones figure out two things. One, Ross Tanner's family didn't exist; the photos were faked. Second, XIII has a final flashback; Number I wasn't Wax but Wally Sheridan. Sheridan had his own sister killed to get the Vice President into the office. He then with the rest of the conspirators, coordinated attacks that made the President look bad in order to win a landslide victory, so they can turn the United States down the path to an
authoritarian
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
dictatorship. XIII, realizing they have been duped and it is not over, looks at Jones and says, "We're going back."
The XX
Cast
Broadcasters
Critical reception
At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the miniseries has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Its best reviews came from ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'', who said "All in all, this isn't a half-bad political thriller." On the other side, ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' said "Poorly cast and performed (including an embarrassing turn by Val Kilmer), XIII is shot so murkily and staged so badly, you can hardly tell where people are, let alone where they're going."
'XIII' isn't unlucky, it's just bad
''USA Today'', By Robert Bianco
References
External links
*
{{XIII
2008 action thriller films
2000s English-language films
Films shot in Hamilton, Ontario
Films shot in Toronto
Films based on Belgian comics
Canadian thriller television films
Canadian action thriller films
English-language Canadian films
Films about amnesia
Adaptations of works by Jean Van Hamme
Live-action films based on comics
Canal+ original programming
Films about terrorism in the United States
Films set in Washington, D.C.
Films set in Montana
Films set in West Virginia
Films set in Montgomery County, Maryland
French television films
French action thriller films
English-language French films
2008 films
Films directed by Duane Clark
2000s Canadian films
2000s French films