Asterix at the Olympic Games

What a crap!!!... I'm so disappointed.. OK,the first film was not very good, everybody agrees, but in some way it had some a sort of dreamy ambiance, that could kept someone a bit connected to the ambient on the books, and, of course, Christian Clavier as Astérix.. I absolutely LOVED the 2nd one.. Now that's comedy, that transported you back to the subtle humour on the books, those were great actors, etc etc... This one was TERRIBLE! Has anyone seen Astérix?? Who was that guy?? How on earth did anyone ever thought he could play astérix!? And did the director's even read the original book? This was a really bad movie... By the time an hour had passed I couldn't listen to Benoît Poelvoorde (Brutus) anymore.. Even though I think he pulled out a decent performance on this, please, shut him up! My head was banging with all that shouting and crappy dialogues... Not funny whatsoever.. And I guess that crappy Astérix talked 3 or 4 times during the whole movie... Maybe I shouldn't complain, because every time he appeared on screen I thought "what tha hell.. a blue eyed astérix with the appearance of teenager badly dressed to carnival??!" Please... You ruined it all :(

I read the reviews of this film and being a great admirer of the comic strip decided to give it a miss. Then my eldest grandson came to visit and he chose it as the film he really wanted to see. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings as it were. The concept is of course silly, seeing that it is a comic strip. So expecting a logical sequence to the film is hardly sensible. But from the start you have the right emotional tone from Caesar to the lovely pile of wild boars Obelisk has so casually assembled as a sort of tone-setter. The hero is not a strong actor. He shouldn't be nor should his lovely girl friend. He is merely a coathanger on which the clothing represented by the Gauls and Romans should hang. Talking of clothing, what absolutely superb costumes. Also, in keeping with the cartoon original a style of sly reference to classical history is maintained. So carp if you will. But I'm fairly sure a child of any age would love it and I rejoice that at a few days short of 65 I still love this sort of elegant nonsense. So superior to the ghastly Disney horror that cursed the cinemas at the new year and which received such undeserved and possibly well orchestrated reviews. This may be a film for children but it is a film for intelligent children, who bring their grandparents along.

Gaul is entirely occupied by the Roman . Well not , entirely . One small village of indomitable Gauls holds out against the invaders . Life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camp . In the village are our friends, Asterix (Clovis Cornillac replacing Christian Claver) , he's a shrewd and cunning little warrior, his inseparable partner is Obelix (Gerard Depardieu , as always), he's ready to drop everything and go off on a new adventure with Asterix , Panoramix (recently deceased Jean Pierre Cassel) , the venerable village's druid who brews magic potions , his speciality is the potion which gives the drinker superhuman strength , without forgetting the chief Abraracourcix and the singer Bardo Cacofonix . Besides , a young villager enamored a beautiful Greek princess named Irina (Vanessa Hessler). Then our heroes decide participate in the Olympic Games in Olympia . There they must confront the Caesar's (Alain Delon substituting Gottfried John and Alain Chabat) son , named Brutus (Benoit Poelvoorde). The picture captures outrageous adventures , tongue in cheek , anachronisms , feats and hilarious moments here and there. Packs sympathetic first appearance of Julius Caesar played by Alain Delon doing a self-homage with musical background from the Clan of the Sicilians . It appears several secondaries as Spaniards and French actors , such as Santiago Segura , Monica Cruz and Jean Pierre Castaldi ,Janel Debouzze repeating his role of Numerobix and the wrestling champion Nathan Jones as Humungus . However , this time doesn't appear the likable pirates and their sinking ships , being replaced by known football players in a silly ending with a balloon as plot . The motion picture was regularly directed by Frederic Forrestier , though it contains lively musical score and colorful cinematography by Thierry Argobast . This inferior third entry shot in live acting is preceded by ¨Asterix vs Caesar¨ directed by Claude Zidi and ¨Asterix and Cleopatra¨ by Alain Chabat with Monica Belucci.

After seeing 4 times the previous "Asterix: mission Cléopâtre" in theaters, how can I tell my deception? For months, I waited for this one, and all I was rewarded, was finally a pointless story, made of gags without connection between them. Besides, famous actors do all they can. Great names, as many guest stars, each one dedicated to one specific kind of gag, as if the movie makers tried to achieve the ultimate commercial movie, at once for all audiences: kids, old movies fans, sport lovers, and so on. All we think they could do with such a cast, remains in our imagination: the reality is just a boring succession of bad jokes, like a sketch movie. Teletubbies fans will love. With constantly increasing ticket prices, I hope you'll a way to spend a better time.

When America adapts comics, it gives Spiderman, Sin-City, Batman We, French, got Asterix ! It's hard to be a Frenchman! Why ? It's not about special effects, big fights. Simply, when i come back home, i have got nothing to ponder with Asterix while Spidey is full of wisdom. Here, the story is far away from delivering any good message for kids because at those Olympic games, every tribe cheats : the good with magic potion, the bad with magic potion, well, doping is everywhere ! In addition, this movie would be misunderstood for foreigners because it loaded with french « peoplelisation ». So it is less a movie than a showcase for non-acting celebrities. The only good thing to keep in mind was that it was my invitation to friend kids and that they enjoy the day as much as me !

I never liked any of the 'Asterix'-Movies very much, I found them mostly boring. The newest addition to the line is no exception to the rule: a lot of crappy humour and bad timing. One good thing this movie has is the presence of Alain Delon. He was and still is an actor with an unbelievable on-screen-presence and charisma. My impression was, that this dull movie came alive when he had screen time. His role was silly, he wasn't. He brought in nearly fifty years of experience and it worked even in this silly role and silly movie. I was really impressed with his performance and just realized once again, what a fine actor Delon is. It is sad that he retired from acting and that this s***** movie brought him back, but well, that's his decision. If you have a childish sense of humour or small kids, this is your movie for a bad-weather-day. Everyone else: leave it.

Even if you've never finished any Asterix book you'll enjoy this movie if you see it through a child's eye. Delon steals the movie. His first monologue could be used in a psychology textbook for "narcissism", and knowing him, it's very funny that he took this role. It's like he can laugh at himself, which is a trait that few actors possess. The mention to his film "Rocco e i suoi fratelli" is funny too for those who enjoy his many good films. Benoît Poelvoorde is really great as a despicable anti hero, very well described by César in the beginning: "Egypt had the 7 plagues, César had Brutus". The romantic couple is likable. The beau who's not as bright with words as we think (the homage to Cyrano is a feast) is fine but I guess it proves what counts and what not for picking up women :). Vanessa Hessler is stunningly beautiful, yes, but OK as an actress and rather sympa. Not bad for a model turned actress/ who turned to acting. I'd rather have her on a movie than, say, Angelina Jolie, who's more artificial and whose lips at least reek of Botox. V seems to be a natural beauty, rare in these days. Yes, the "hairstyle with wheels" only looks well on a beautiful woman. I just can't imagine how ridiculous would on an otherwise nice chick What can be said about Dépardieu? The scene in which he dictates the lines for his dog to pick the female dog were terribly funny, he doesn't fear ridicule for getting a child (or us) laugh. Congratulations for old Obelix, he will never loose that "inner child" in us! Clovis Cornillac is fine as Asterix. He doesn't get much screen time, but he's resourceful and doesn't want to intrude on the story. I'm glad to see him after his untimely exit from the TV series "Central Nuit", in which he played a pivotal role. Jean-Pierre Cassel as Panoramix was fine, causing one of the best lines: "druid abduction, what has the world become?" The music is fine. If you're moderately into ancient history, there are many funny parts. The different tribes at the chariot's race are worth the price of admission! The very specific "reasons for disqualification" there was my favourite gag. I didn't get much of the sense of "Troubadix", thou that's probably me. I did find funny a very minor character, the Roman athlete. At least, he had the "physique du role", huge, blindly loyal and brutish looking. Obviously had the Romans been half as thick they wouldn't have conquered an Empire, but as a caricature it's funny indeed. I think Irina's father, calculating but not entirely bad dad was a decent villain, thou I suppose his gayness would offend some, for different reasons. The big brute "Humungus" was OK, specially aided by the growl if you are lucky to watch this film in a theatre. Same goes for the Olympics, like javelin, disc, rock and whatever throwing. With a proper surround sound, the Roman stadium is quite immersing for being FX. The takes of César with the sun on his back to highlight his "royalness" were well crafted and got to the point. The cameos in the end were funny, starting from Schummy "forever the best!", (at the chariots), A. Karembeau 's * scene. Zinedine Zidane is fun, Sklenarikova is OK. Maybe had the last "party" scene never been shot, we wouldn't have missed it (too "American wannabe"), but I guess it didn't spoil an overall funny and very well made film.

SPOILER I really enjoyed this film, as did my parents and a friend we watched this with. I thought the jokes were good, though it would have been nicer to see Asterix more. I thought Brutus was very funny, as was Cesar with his bath and mirror tasters. The end with Zidane and Tony Parker was fairly funny, but unnecessary, though it was good to Jamel back from the second film. I also liked the ancient roman versions of the different things we have today. (I am only 15, so probably have a different perspective than most adults would)

I didn't know what to expect of the new movie starring my favourite ...petit Gaulois. So, I admit I was kind of skeptic when I got the invitation to the Athens premiere. Would it be as good as Mission Cleopatre? Would it keep up the great, refined humour? Would the CGI effects work properly in the context of the movie? But then I thought of it again: it was a red carpet event and Alain Delon, Gerard Depardieu and Vanessa Hessler were supposed to attend! It would be a fun event, nonetheless. And so I went to see the movie, an excellent decision since I really had fun after a day of exams. The new Asterix installment was as funny and cute as its predecessors, and it's a good time guaranteed, especially if you are a child or a child at heart. The movie follows Asterix and Obelix as they try to win the Olympic Games in order for their friend, Alafolix to win the hand of Greek Princess Irina in marriage. In the meanwhile, Brutus sets up several conspiracies against Caesar, without much success but with hilarious results. The acting was amazingly good in most cases. The "divas" of the show were Gerard Depardieu (as Obelix) who as always portrays a funny, romantic-at-heart and humane character with ease as well as Alain Delon in the role of a self-loving Jules Caesar. Even though he finally didn't attend the premiere, he made up for it on screen. His "Ave moi's" were just the greatest, making the audience laugh with their heart while his character's obsession with mirrors stood out! Vanessa Hessler was very pretty and quite good in her role while I have to admit I was kind of disappointed in the new Asterix, Clovis Cornillac whose acting I found rather crude compared to the smooth ability of Christian Clavier. The minor cast was also good featuring appearances from Adriana Karembeu, Jamel Debbouze as well as famous athletes like Michael Schumacher, Zinedine Zidane, Amelie Mauresmo and Tony Parker. The humour was well contemporary (you'll even see a Star Wars reference and anti-doping) jokes and the plot runs smoothly. The parts of the actual games are really well done, while CGI compliments the picture in a subtle way. Seeing the Olympic Games, even though as a comic on-screen adaptation, makes me feel proud to be Greek... So, you may question my objectivity when I give this a 9/10 but I assure you: if you want to have about one hour and three quarters of good fun and if you love the bande desinee of Asterix, be sure to check this out.

I just watched the English translation of this movie, and I don't think it was as bad as people made it out to be. Of the three live-action Asterix movies, none has really come close to capturing the charm of the comics (or even the animated features). "Mission Cleopatra" came closest, I think. The first movie was just miserable. "Asterix at the Olympic Games" was a fun, if not perfect, attempt at capturing the magic of the books. My biggest complaint was that although its an Asterix and Obelix movie, it doesn't really seem to be about them. They don't even make an appearance until about 15 minutes in. It lends a certain degree of ridiculousness (and not in an amusing way) to the movie to have this enormous title screen that says "Astérix Aux Jeux Olympiques," and then have the entire opening act of the movie be about someone other than Asterix. The CGI in the movie was also off-putting. Its used to make many of the more cartoony effects of the film, which is good, but it was really over-used in many scenes that didn't require them. Also, it wasn't really good CGI either. The plot was nothing special, but it was amusing. It had some good jokes, and the characters were pretty fun. It was nothing like the comic ("Asterix at the Olympic Games") which it was based on, but I didn't expect it to be. There were, apparently, tons of guest appearances by European (I think) athletes, none of whom I recognize -- being wholly ignorant on the topic of sports in this country or any other. I think these probably stuck in the throat of many people, who might have known who they were. Anyway, I think they are starting to get the hang of how to make live-action Asterix movies, but I really do wish that the story had been more involved with Asterix, himself.