If the frenchman former spy was a genuine friend...

But didnt Mills exclaim "You were my FRIEND Jean-Claude"!? It made me think that Mills, being as old an experienced as he was, understood the difference between an alliance/convenience and an actual friend. Bryan Mills was a surprised by this betrayal as we were as the audience. Also Jean-Claude took bribe money and stayed clear of the Albanians. It didnt seem like the relationship was on a footing where he could just ring them up and tell them to let certain people go. Though Mills later just shows up and makes demands and threats, the Albanians believed him meaning they werent really too in touch with the French authorities besides knowing money changed hands and no one was arresting them despite what they were doing.

Bryan Mills came to the logical conclusion pretty quickly, Jeane-Claude easily couldve told Mills who was behind it and their location, and Mills couldve done his thing and Jean-Claude wouldnt have had any blowback EXCEPT no longer getting that bribe money because he knows how far Bryan would have gone as he wouldve killed the Albanians. So he really was more interested in receiving that money than Bryan Mills getting his daughter back. What a turd. Even if someone was not my friend, If all I have to do is say one sentence to help them get their daughter back from rape and slavery I would just tell them. Jean-Claude only cared about himself. The world of spies are filled with sociopaths but Bryan Mills thought he was a real friend.

You bring up many good points that I never considered. His close friends back home helped with intelligence, but none showed up as physical backup in Europe. It could be hand-waved by fans saying its easier for him to get into the underworld if its only him so less of a notice by other people. But they were all former spies and having more people to help would have been a real help. But it would have taken (hah) away the tension in the movie as him being alone in several scenes made it more interesting and entertaining.

Thank you for the reply. It was thought-provoking and made me realize different routes this movie could have...taken (haha) okay Ill stop xD

Also, maybe Bryan Mills is so capable that his teammates (and he himself) considered it as them getting in his way if they all tagged along? Or maybe too many flags go off if all these former spies show up together in France? Or what if they understood the danger and Mill said "We all retired and have families, I wont ask you to come with me risking yall dont get to come back to your own families". There are some reasons why they might not have gone over there with him. We just arent shown this. The pacing of the movie is really good