XIII: The Conspiracy

XIII: The Conspiracy
Based on	XIII graphic novel series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance
Screenplay by	David Wolkove Philippe Lyon
Directed by	Duane Clark
Starring	Val Kilmer Stephen Dorff
Country of origin	Canada France
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Ken Gord
Cinematography	David Greene
Editor	Yann Hervé
Running time	86 min x 2 = 172 min.
Production companies	Prodigy Pictures Cipango Films
Budget	$20 million
Original release
Network	Canal+
Release	October 6, 2008 (2008-10-06)

XIII: The Conspiracy is a 2008 television film in two parts, based on the eponymous graphic novel series by Belgian authors Jean Van Hamme and William Vance, about an amnesiac 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, stars Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorff, and was produced by Prodigy Pictures and Cipango Films. It was first broadcast in France in October 2008 by Canal+; followed by NBC in the USA in February 2009; by Nine in Australia (as The Conspiracy) in November 2009; and by Five in the United Kingdom in December 2009 (where it was shown as a single feature instead of in two parts).

Plot

When the first female president of the United States, Sally Sheridan, (Mimi Kuzyk) is killed by a sniper, her assassin narrowly escapes after a shootout involving a shadowy figure named La Mangouste (Val Kilmer) or "The Mongoose". Three months later in West Virginia, an elderly couple discover a young man (Stephen Dorff) in a parachute laying wounded in a tree. He cannot remember his past and the only clue to his identity is a tattoo on his chest, "XIII", the Roman numeral for 13.

In the White House, a joint intelligence task force led by Colonel Amos (Greg Bryk) searches for the President's killer while XIII searches online for information about his tattoo. His location is detected by the NSA and a squad of elite special forces swarm the couple's home, killing them. XIII kills the soldiers and escapes to New York where he befriends Sam (Caterina Murino), a photo shop owner, who helps identify Kim (Jessalyn Gilsig), a woman in a photo he carries.

Rogue Secret Service agents track his location and he is ultimately captured by La Mangouste, who interrogates him and reveals that "XIII" is the brand of a conspiracy. Upon escaping, XIII returns to Sam and learns that the design on his chest also refers to secret societies of the Roman Empire. Sam provides photos that Kim developed in the store which lead XIII upstate to Kellownee Valley.

Government intelligence identifies XIII as Steven Rowland and uses the media to further the manhunt. XIII is aided by Kim, her father, General Carrington (Stephen McHattie), and Jones, a CIA operative, who reveal he was a special ops agent who underwent facial reconstruction for an undercover mission to flush out a group of fascists plotting to overthrow the American government.

La Mangouste locates and captures XIII, killing Kim in the process. La Mangouste discovers XIII has had reconstructive surgery and that his military file is classified. XIII is attacked by another member of the conspiracy, "XIV", but escapes with the help of Jones. President Galbrain (John Bourgeois) authorizes Calvin Wax (Jonathan Higgins), the White House Chief of Staff, to take over the manhunt.

In an NSA safehouse, Carrington reveals XIII's identity as Ross Tanner, who lost his wife and daughter in the sarin gas attacks in Chicago. Carrington also reveals that Col. Jack McCall (Scott Wickware) supervised XIII's paramilitary unit which orchestrated the foreign attacks and that the next major attack is expected to coincide with the upcoming election.

XIII and Jones travel to a decommissioned facility in northern Montana where XIII witnesses McCall in a teleconference with Wax and accosts him, but McCall commits suicide before revealing he location of the attack. Evidence points to a nuclear strike on election day at a Maryland polling station. Carrington confronts Amos and is arrested on suspicion of high treason.

XIII and Jones research Jasper Winthrow, CEO of Standard Electronics, which owns Stratus Dynamics, a military contractor impacted by the former president's plan to scale down America's presence in Iraq. This leads XIII and Jones to a factory in Petersburg, Virginia, where XIII locates and kills La Mangouste. XIII discovers the target is Bethesda, Maryland, and arrives in time to stop the delivery of the bomb.

Wally Sheridan, the assassinated president's brother, wins the national election. XIII confronts Wax, who claims that it is "only the beginning" before killing himself. Carrington is released from prison and Sheridan reveals in a press conference the details of the plot and those behind it.

While in Japan, XIII and Jones discover that Ross Tanner's family didn't exist, and that Wally Sheridan had his sister killed to get the Vice President into the office then orchestrated attacks to undermine confidence in the President to ensure Sheridan's victory and establish a dictatorship. XIII, realizing they have been duped, tells Jones, "We're going back."

The XX

Number	Name	Position
I	Wally Sheridan	President-elect
II	Calvin Wax	Chief of Staff
III	Ellery Shipley	US Secretary of Defense
IV	Jasper Winthrow	CEO of Standard Electronic
V	???	???
VI	???	???
VII	???	???
VIII	???	???
IX	???	???
X	???	???
XI	Jack McCall	Colonel
XII	Mongoose	Assassin
XIII	Steve Rowland	Ex-Special Assault and Destroying Sections operative
XIV	Agent Kohn	Prison Interrogator, Homeland Security
XV	Unnamed Man	Tunnel Bomber
XVI	???	???
XVII	Kim Rowland	Steve Rowland's widow
XVIII	???	???
XIX	Unnamed Man	Armored Car Driver, Department of Energy
XX	Unnamed Woman	U.S. Customs Official

Cast

• Stephen Dorff as XIII
• Val Kilmer as Mongoose
• John Bourgeois as President Joseph K. Galbrain
• Stephen McHattie as General Ben Carrington
• Greg Bryk as Colonel Samuel Amos
• Lucinda Davis as Major Lauren Jones
• Jessalyn Gilsig as Kim Rowland
• Caterina Murino as Sam Taylor
• Ted Atherton as Walter "Wally" Sheridan
• Julian Richings as Cody
• Daniel DeSanto as Tech Agent
• Barbara Gordon as Martha Miller
• Mimi Kuzyk as President Sally Sheridan, the first female President of the United States
• Jacqueline Pillon as XX

Broadcasters

Country	Broadcaster	Date
France	Canal +	October 6–13, 2008
United States	NBC	February 8–15, 2009
Australia	Nine Network	November 1–8, 2009
United Kingdom	Five	December 27, 2009
Austria	ATV	January 15, 2010
Spain	Antena 3	April 1, 2010
Germany	13th Street	April 16–18, 2010
South Africa	SABC 3	August 29 – September 5, 2010
Canada	Showcase	2010
Bulgaria	AXN (subtitles) bTV (dubbed)	April 4–5, 2010 April 16–17, 2011
Netherlands	BNN RTL 7	June 9–10, 2011 July 8, 2014
Belgium	VT4	December 22–29, 2011
Thailand	BBTV Channel 7	January 11–12, 2012
China	HBO Asia	February 2012
India	HBO
Hungary	RTL Klub	February 2, 2012

Critical reception

At Metacritic, 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, who said "All in all, this isn't a half-bad political thriller." On the other side, USA Today 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."

External links

• XIII: The Conspiracy at IMDb