This article discusses the ending of the Netflix film The Takedown, so will contain major spoilers.
Ten years after they were originally forced to work together, mismatched cops Ousmane (Omar Sy) and François (Laurent Lafitte) find themselves working a case once more following the discovery of a body on a train.
With the body that François initially found actually exposing a network of fascists in a quieter area outside of Paris, he and Ousmane are quickly thrown into a case that is far bigger then the murder investigation they originally thought they would be working on. Over the course of The Takedown, the pair are constantly uncovering clues that point towards the a local fascist group being behind the killing, with the reason for the murder being that the victim knew what they were planning next.
The fascists, led by local official Brunner, are actually waging a war against everything in the area that is not visibly French, targeting mosques, certain residential areas and the like in a bid to oust minorities. By the time Ousmane and François learn this, Brunner is already prepping his troops for attack, leading a rally that the two police officers plan to intercept after learning of its location.
Netflix film The Takedown ending explained
François executes a distraction that is meant to buy Ousmane time to confiscate all of the weapons Brunner’s soldiers have stored in their vehicles outside the warehouse where the rally is taking place. Whilst he is looting all of the cars, however, Ousmane is spotted by local cop Alice, who was previously their contact outside of Paris, but who is now revealed to be in full support of Brunner’s regime. The pair fight, whilst François also is facing some difficulties when his distraction goes awry.
When Ousmane breaks away from Alice, he steps in to help François. The pair manage to get back on top of Brunner’s fascist hooligans, but not before Brunner himself escapes and is aided in his getaway by Alice who has also managed to free herself from the restraints Ousmane left her in. The pair flee, but Ousmane and François are hot on their tail.
What follows is an immense car chase across the rural landscape before the boys catch up with Alice and Brunner, where their vehicles collide. Brunner abandons Alice, heading for a nearby residential building that has been rigged with explosives. Ousmane and François enter the building in an effort to get all of the residents out before the device detonates, and whilst they are successful in this effort, they are still inside when the explosive goes off.
The building collapses, but both of the officers are relatively unscathed, still managing to take out Brunner and leave him passed out in a pile of rubble before emergency services arrive to take over.
The Takedown ends with the fruits of Ousmane’s and Fran?ois’ labour being celebrated with significant media coverage, however both have their noses put slightly out of joint by the fact it is mainly pencil pushers getting all of the glory for the case that they cracked. With his newfound knowledge that François would like to be viewed as more of a hero by the general public, Ousmane has an idea, and arranges for him to become the poster boy for the force’s latest recruitment drive – an offer made to him at the start of the film.
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