A “crazy”
casting
for one of
the “most anticipated films of the year”
.
While the adventures of the irreducible Gauls
Asterix and Obelix
are being adapted for the cinema for the fifth time, the director of this new episode, Guillaume Canet, did not lack superlatives on France Inter to qualify this blockbuster at 65 million euros which is supposed to save French cinema.
“They all know
that if this film does not work, there will not necessarily be many others: it is important that it works so that others are financed”,
he explained .
about his colleagues in the trade.
Mission accomplished?
Yes, explains Étienne Sorin of Figaro, seduced by a scenario entirely imagined by Guillaume Canet and is not the transcription of any album.
Despite the
"first minutes [of] film very mollassonnes"
, the exceptional cast and the actors manage to
"make their honey out of absurd gags and anachronisms faithful to the spirit of the comic strip"
, he writes.
“Even footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, as Antivirus centurion, purposely laughs no match for Tat Han (Leanna Chea), the princess’s intrepid bodyguard.”
France Info also welcomes a film
"faithful to the spirit of the saga"
, despite
"big strings"
(in particular certain shots on China), already seen in other films labeled Asterix and Obelix.
Just like
Télérama
which underlines the
"few qualities"
of a film
"below"
that of Alain Chabat but which
"treats the secondary characters".
"The Worst of the Middle"
The new Chinese adventures of the two Gauls, however, did not convince most critics.
"No offense to the self-proclaimed savior of French cinema, his
Asterix & Obelix
: the Middle Empire is a 65
million euro turnip"
, tackles Marianne.
The magazine, which headlines saying:
"It's not fresh, its fish"
, curries a "failing" writing,
"more concerned with commercial profitability than with narrative coherence"
.
Same taunts on the side of
Liberation
, which hijacks the title of the film
The Middle Empire
to better rename it:
"The worst in the middle"
.
The daily imagines a dialogue between Guillaume Canet and his friend Gilles Lellouche, who plays Obélix.
Canet wakes up in the night, in the grip of night sweats, at the idea that his blockbuster with a pharaonic budget does not meet with success in theaters.
“But is there anything positive, Gilou?
Chinese characters named Tofu, Banana and Rikiki?
Fights that Josée Dayan next door is Tsui Hark?
A main actress who we will modestly qualify as 'unprepared'?
Even Jonathan Cohen and Ramzy Bedia are in trouble.
I planted myself, Gilou
, write the two journalists who imagined this imaginary dialogue.
"The magic potion makes pschitt"
, headlines
Le Parisien
, which deplores the lack of modernity of this
"ninth most expensive French film in history"
.
For everyday life, the film, which
“Bets on a host of stars, costumes, sets and visual effects”
accuses a lack of rhythm and a winded scenario, which does not manage to bring out any issue.
“Despite its many twists and turns, this plot tires quickly
,” he finally concludes.
Le Monde
, more conciliatory (the film receives the mention
"Why not"
), however deplores a
"succession of jokes (not always funny)"
in which
"actors do what they can to lend credibility to their disguise"
.
The regional press not convinced
The regional press makes the same observation as the national titles.
La Voix du Nord
, less virulent, salutes a film
“which aims broadly”
and
“generous”
, but which does not win
“on all counts”
.
"The main plot has fewer surprises and is sorely lacking in epic moments, including in its outcome, clumsily dispatched"
, regrets
La Provence
, in its Wednesday edition.
On the side of
Sud Ouest
, we deplore a comedy
“without great relief”
, in which
“we rarely laugh”
.
The regional daily accuses the comparison of
The Middle Empire
with another adaptation, that of Alain Chabat (
Mission Cleopatra
), which has served since its release in 2002, as a benchmark for the success of these new adaptations.
So many criticisms that risk complicating the task of this French “blockbuster”, which is aiming for 5 million admissions to make its production costs profitable.