Simon Rowsonin
Filmon
April 24, 2011|
no responses
Directed By Luc Besson
Starring Louise Bourgoin, Gilles Lellouche, Nicolas Giraud and Mathieu Amalric
It`s 1912 and intrepid adventurer/reporter Adele Blanc-Sec is on a grave-robbing expedition to Egypt in hopes of claiming the mummified corpse of a pharoah`s personal doctor, intent on reviving him and using his expertise to heal her ailing sister.
Meanwhile, the nutty professor she`s relying on to fetch her borrowed mummy back to life has accidentally awoken a prehistoric pteradactlyl, which is causing havoc encircling Paris as dopey detective Capoldi and equally inept hunter Justin de Saint-Hubert attempt to lead the beast.
Having misspent much of the at the end decade at the helm of the lacklustre Arthur & The Invisibles movies, Luc Besson makes a triumphant giveback with this delightful comic fantasy adventure, which adapts Jacques Tardi`s `70s comic of the same designation. Equal parts Amelie and Indiana Jones, with a style of Night at the Museum (only, k`immediately, excellent), Adele Blanc-Sec wonderfully blends farcical French comedy with gripping ancient-fashioned, high-stakes adventure.
Whether it`s the intense rush of beholding her thwart her sinister French nemesis in a wonderfully executed Indiana Jones-style tomb raiding scene, or the immense giggles that occur when she uses a form of less-than-successful disguises (and a pterodactyl) to represent a guillotine-dodging prison break, Miss Blanc-Suc`s escapades are incredibly infectious fun. So much fun that the film loses a little of its spark as it leaves her to shoot between subplots and locate-ups.
That`s not to support the remainder of the picture is terrible. On the contrary, the Clouseau-esque farce surrounding Inspector Capoldi brings a tonne of laughs thanks to Gilles Lellouche`s wonderfully deadpan performance, and the screwball hijinks are never less than entertaining. However the meandering reach of the narrative sometimes spends a little also much age jumping between characters or setting up dominoes to be nudged in sequels, and feels like it`s losing a focus that`d be bigger spent on its plucky lead.
Consider it a will to how bewitching a character Adele Blanc-Sec is and how perfectly the delectable Louise Bourgoin brings her to lifetime. In what should be a star-making turn, former weather girl Bourgoin exhibits a magnetic presence, crackerjack comic timing and is as adept at injecting emotional heart into the film`s dramatic dalliances. Then there`s Adele Blanc-Sec herself. Stubbornly feistly, unflappably cool and deliciously droll, she`s the most enchanting French heroine since Amlie and should be nipping at Lisbeth Salander`s heels on top ten lists of modern cinema`s most captivating female heroes.
A picturesque, high-energy romp through Paris and parts beyond, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec is a wonderfully whimsical fantasy adventure complete of thrills, giggles, pterodactyls and talking mummies. Besson might drop a little also lots of the film setting up imaginable sequels, however after tagging along on Adele Blanc-Sec`s first adventure, you`ll be instantly clambering for more.
Rating:
The Sinful Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec is in select UK cinemas immediately.
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