• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Netflix film's ‘f***ing insane’ one-shot 12 minute scene has fans wishing they could ‘watch it for first time again’

Home> Entertainment> Netflix

Published 12:45 23 Jan 2025 GMT

Netflix film's ‘f***ing insane’ one-shot 12 minute scene has fans wishing they could ‘watch it for first time again’

The 'insane' one shot scene has had fans obsessed

Michael Slavin

Michael Slavin

A Netflix film with a crazy opening scene which appears as one-shot over the course of 12 minutes has been leaving fans begging to be able to ‘watch it for first time again’.

This is a feeling I’m sure many of us can relate to, the idea of going back and enjoying your favourite film or show for the first time again.

While rewatches can bring new angles, ultimately, nothing beats your first watch of an unreal film.

Advert

The fiery film has had viewers obsessed (Netflix)
The fiery film has had viewers obsessed (Netflix)

And this Netflix thriller from 2022 has you immediately hooked from the action packed 12 minute scene, with several sneaky cuts hidden within it to appear as one continuous sequence.

The film focuses on a group of French youths who begin to riot after their leader’s younger brother is murdered by police.

Check out the trailer here:

The film, in question, is Athena, and it follows the group of youths turning their council estate into a fortress after raiding a local police station.

The opening sequence sees them raiding the station, escaping in a stolen police van, before returning to their estate triumphant.

Advert

Athena has received positive reviews, with a 6.8 on IMDb and 86 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes.

One comment on a TikTok video of the opening sequence said: “Wish I could watch Athena for the first time again,” while another called it 'the best movie I've ever watched'.

In fact, a few people commented that.

The insane opening scene is a stand out (Netflix)
The insane opening scene is a stand out (Netflix)

Dylan Roth of The Observer said in their 2022 review: “Athena is an engrossing and unflinching polemic, an “action-tragedy” that’s both a feast for the eyes and a dagger to the heart.”

Advert

Meanwhile, Tomris Laffry of RogerEbert.com said in their three out of four star review: “A fast-moving political thriller and urban drama that feels genuinely cinematic, with technical finesse to spare.”

Even critical reviews were effusive, however, about the film’s crazy opening sequence, which you can see here:

IndieWire’s David Erlich, in a 2.5 star review, said on Letterboxd: “Pardon my French, but the first shot of Romain Gavras’ Athena — a sketch of a Greek tragedy transplanted into a housing project on the outskirts of Paris — is absolutely f**king insane.

“Even in a digital age where dazzling long-takes have become a dime a dozen (and all too easy to fake), the oner that ignites this roman candle of a movie about a police siege on a poor neighbourhood is something else.”

Advert

In a video shared explaining the making of the 12 minute scene, director Romain Gavras said (via Collider): “On a traditional shoot, a scene can be energized by the editing, by making cuts.

“But since we had the ambition of making a tense film, where we are held in complete suspense from beginning to end, we don’t need dull moments.

“Especially for this scene, where we start in a police station, go into a van, and we arrive at the council estate two miles away.”

Athena is available to watch in Netflix.

Featured Image Credit: Netflix

Topics: Netflix, Film, Crime, TV and Film

Michael Slavin
Michael Slavin

Michael Slavin is LADbible's dedicated specialist Film and TV writer. Following his completion of a Masters in International Journalism at Salford University, he began working for the Warrington Guardian as a reporter. Throughout this he did freelance work about Entertainment for publications such as DiscussingFilm, where he was the Film and TV editor. Now, he is LAD's go to voice on all things Netflix, True Crime, and UK TV, as well as interviewing huge global stars such as Jake Gyllenhaal, Daisy Ridley, and Ben Stiller.

X

@michaelslavin98

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • 98% rated Netflix mini-series has insane three-minute opening scene you'll watch over and over
  • Ashley Walters admits he 'f***ing regretted' saying yes to new Stephen Graham Netflix series after arriving on set
  • Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick shot entirely improvised film with nude scene available on Netflix
  • Mother speaks out after Netflix footage shows police confront her sending daughter daily death threats

Choose your content:

an hour ago
18 hours ago
22 hours ago
a day ago
  • Kevin Winter/Getty Images
    an hour ago

    Meaning behind duck gift Jake Gyllenhaal gave to Owen Cooper as he became youngest male Emmy winner

    Owen Cooper had admitted to just wanting to 'chew Gyllenhaal's ear off'

    Entertainment
  • John Keeble/Getty Images
    18 hours ago

    Jeremy Clarkson says he wants to ban 'annoying' group of customers from his pub

    Clarkson's The Farmer's Dog might end up with fewer 'faddy' punters

    Entertainment
  • Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Film at Lincoln Center
    22 hours ago

    Bruce Willis' wife says they have developed their 'own language' as she opens up on changes as his dementia progresses

    Emma Heming Willis opened up about their new living situation

    Entertainment
  • Instagram/iamtomskinner
    a day ago

    Thomas Skinner admits to cheating on his wife during 'two-week fling' just weeks after their wedding

    The father-of-three described his affair as the 'biggest mistake of his life'

    Entertainment