Customer Reviews

Asterix At The Olympic Games /Asterix et Obelix aux jeux olympiques

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Asterix and Obelix take a back seat in this CGI extravaganza that leaves one wanting less. Much less.

Clovis Cornillac regretably replaces Christian Clavier as Asterix, but no one notices since the little Gaul warrior barely has a line or two. Most of the time you get lots of hammy French comedians in self-fashioned roles trying desperately to outslap each other to slumber. Movie legends Depardieu and Delon spoof their past glories (Cyrano, The Sicilian Clan) in order to deliver something -anything- to this tepid pot. Even Idefix (Dogmatix) looks apathic.
Sports superstars Michael Schumacher, Zinedine Zidane and Tony Parker look barely bemused themselves, and supermodels Vanessa Hessler and Adriana Karembeu have a hard time trying to fill Monica Belluci's sandals. Unfortunately, she appeared in the previous movie, not this one. Jamel Debbouze returns in a late cameo as Numerobis (Edifis) to squezze a last smirk from the audience, making the final five minutes a masterclass on how NOT to wrap a show EVER!

Sadly, this was to be Jean-Pierre Cassel's last film. Lucky for him, he played Panoramix (Getafix) under such a Gandalfic beard, his career remains untarnished.

Bottomline: skip it. Read the comic book instead.

The third Asterix comic brought to the big screen, Asterix at the Olympic games is no where near the quality of the first two. I guess the actor who played Asterix so well in the first two movies took a look at the script and said, that doesn't do Asterix or the other characters justice, go back and rewrite it before I'll do it. Instead of doing this sensible thing, they just go a different actor and made the film from the average script they had. The new Asterix actor doesn't do as a good a job as his predecessor but to be fair to him he didn't have many lines or scenes to show what he could do. Asterix is hardly in this movie at all, Obelix has about double his amount of time (same actor as other two films) but there's still not much footage of either of them. Nor really the rest of the Gauls.

The plot of this one revolves around Brutus and his constant attempts to murder Julius Caesar but instead getting the food tester, mirror tester, bath tester and every other method tester (that joke does get old real fast). Brutus is also trying to win the Olympic games so he can wed the Greek rulers daughter. Why are Asterix and Obelix even there, well Lovesix a Gaul from the village also loves the Greek beauty, and she loves Lovesix's poetry (those who have read the comic books as a kid know who really wrote these poems). So the Gauls are there to help Lovesix win the Olympics and her hand in marriage. Of course Brutus and the Romans aren't opposed to cheating, nor are the Gauls at first until they realise their usual performance enhancing drug (magic potion taking) isn't looked favourably at the Olympics.

The ending to the games from the comic Asterix at the Olympic Games is the same in the movie, at least the film has that. Incidentally there's also a few jokes and scenes from other Asterix comic books thrown in as well. A boring Greek feast scene at the end extends the film for ten minutes but just revolves around the invention of the soccer and basketball. The use of these ten minutes with scenes with Asterix and Obelix or even other Gauls in their village at the start of the film would have been better.

The first film ASTERIX & OBELIX Versus CAESAR and the second (which was an absolute masterpiece) Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra were much more entertaining than this one.

An outstanding comedy, Asterix at the Olympic Games, is the third film (after Asterix and Obelix versus Caesar and Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra) based on the ever popular French comics. The two Gauls, Asterix and Obelix head to Greece in order to accompany one of their own whose victory at the Games will mean marrying his beloved Greek princess. Roman Emperor Julius Caesar' stepson, Brutus, however, has his own eyes set on victory for he too aims to wed the Greek princess.
The film moves away from the original 1968 plot and includes elements from other Asterix stories as well as entirely new elements.
Gerard Depardieu, Vanessa Hesler (who is GORGEOUS!), Clovis Cornillac, Benoit Poelvoerde, Alain Delon, and the rest of the cast, have carried out their performances well. Watch out for cameo appearances by Michael Schumacher, Adriana Sklenarikova, Zinedine Zidane, and others. Very well written and very well presented, the movie is without a doubt guaranteed to provide for an evening's entertainment.
On the down side one does not get the impression that Asterix is the protagonist as his role in the film is rather limited. Moreover, with each movie a significant number of actors portraying characters from Julius Caesar to Panoramix and others change and thus take away from that sense of continuity and familiarity.
Nevertheless, the setting, the plot, the dialogues, the humor, the special effects (!!!) and the music are all wonderful!
In short, Asterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection!

Perhaps the wittiest joke of this fascinating saga, is the first sequence in which we watch Julius Caesar (Alain Delon). He looks at the camera (saying Caesar doesn't get old , just grows up) and the musical curtain is Borsalino - this binding made me laugh because of the ties between the Roman Empire and the Sicilian mob.

Besides, the obvious tribute to Ben Hur in the charriot's race in the climax of the film when Brutus will have to demonstrate if he is the best of all.

Depardieu as Obelix is formidable as well as many clever vignettes that will make you laugh until the final curtain.

This is my first visit for this admirable adaptation of these bold and courageous personages of the renowned cartoon so famous during the eighties.

Go for this!

So I was an Asterix & Obelix fan as a kid, and clearly I still am as I bought this film. Also I'm a native French speaker, so that helps.

The film is hysterical and a lot of fun!

If you are an Asterix fan get 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 boobs
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.

Looks just like a cartoon, but with real people.Very funny.
I just think they messed up the original story a bit.
Overal it's worth the money