Film Review: Asterix and Obelix The Middle Kingdom

-

 ASTERIX & OBELIX:THE MIDDLE KINGDOM

 

Based on a comic book series, 10 animated films and 4 films have so far been made-Asterix & Obelix Take on Caeser (1999), Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002), Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008) & Asterix & Obelix : God Save Britannia (2012) and this latest, newest swashbuckling entertainer is the 5th installment in the film series.



 It is the 1st live-action Asterix film which is, not based on any of the Asterix comic albums and is  an action packed family film laced with adventures and humour.

Story :

 Based on the original story by Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé, this adventure comedy has Guillaume Canet (who has directed the film too) as Asterix and Gilles Lellouche as Obelix. 



They travel to China with the objective of saving Princess Fu Yi (Julie Chen), the only daughter of the Chinese Emperor, who escapes from a rogue prince, Deng Tsin Qin (Bun Hay Mean), and goes to Gaul, seeking help from Asterix and Obelix. 

Review:

For fans of the comic books, its always great to see your favourite characters come to life and the film fulfils that expectation with superb recreations of the Gaul village and look and costumes of the characters.

However, Asterix was a tad smaller in build in the comics than Obelix, but in this movie it is not so. The scenes of emotion between the duo however , do leave a mark. 

The scenes with Ceasar are interesting viewing. The travel to China however, gives a feeling of moving too far away from the Gaulois world of Asterix. One wishes for more scenes with the Romans instead. However the Chinese Empress does leave a mark with her presence.

Though they are grand, the war scenes dont make much impact.

 The trademark humor quotient of the franchise and comics, is not that high in this version.  

Overall, a watch for the family audiences, looking for cinematic spectacle, a superb recreation of the Gaul world and loads of adventure.

 

​Releasing on May 12th 2023 in English, Tamil, & Hindi

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review : Mathimaran

-
Image
 Cast: Venkat Senguttuvan - Nedumaran Ivana - Mathi Aradhya - Prabhavathy MS Baskar - sundharam Aadukalam narein - kattabomman Bava chelladurai - karuppasamy Sudharsan Govind- Sudharsan Praveen Kumar - Chandran manickam   Crew: Director - Mantra Veerapandian  Music : Karthik Raja DOP : Parvez Editor : Sathish Suriya Banner - GS Cinema international Producers - Gs cinema international Release - Poppins studio Pro - Yuvraaj  The story revolves around the life of Nedumaran ( Venkat Senguttavan) and his twin sister Mathi ( Ivana). Their father  ( MS Bhasker) is a postman in the village.  He loves both the kids equally. Nedumaran has to face a lot of name calling and jokes due to his  height being affected by dwarfism, but somehow with the help of his twin, he gets past it, giving it back to people who make fun of him.  One day however, the family's world comes crashing down when Mathi elopes with her professor. The parents commit suicide. Left alone, Maran somehow vows to
Read more

Movie Review: Maal

-
Image
  “ Maal” Movie artist and technician list   Cast : Gajaraj as Gajaraj Asraf as Kathir Dinesh kumaran as Philips Saikarthi as Karna Gowri nandha as Yazhini Vj pappu as Gowtham Jey as Jey Technicians : Produced by Kovai film mates SHIVARAJ R SAIKARTHI cinematography & Editing - Shivaraj R Direction - Dinesh kumaran Music - PATHMAYAN SIVANANDHAM Pro - SureshSugu & DharmaDurai Tamil movie Maal, to release on Aha Tamil ott, is about ancient  idols trafficking. The film has interesting parallel tracks of several sets of characters, whose lives intermingle due to a particular Chola idol, an antique worth crores. A group wants to sell this idol and make money. They outsource the transport to another gang due to extensive police pressure, with a special task force on thier heels. But the second gang loses the idol. In the meantime, a cop finds the idol by accident and gets greedy to sell it.  But this time, a set of two youngsters manage to lay their hands on it! And in the midst of t
Read more

Music Director Vidyasagar’s son Harsha Vardhan U makes musical debut in Sibi film!

-
Image
  Actor Sibi Sathyaraj has continuously delivered excellent hits and has registered a prodigious reach in trade circles. Courtesy of his choice of unique content-driven movies and his sheer involvement: They have attributed to the success of movies among general audiences and critics. While his line-ups look so much promising, here comes the announcement of his new project. This is 20th movie of Sibi Sathyaraj. It is produced by IB Karthikeyan of Big Print Pictures and is directed by debutant Pandiyan Adhimoolam. The movie has a theme with universal content that will let audiences connect with it beyond the linguistic factors. The movie emphasizes in family emotions during first half followed by the second half involving action thriller factors with a cat and mouse game between the protagonist and antagonist. The movie has a great attraction as it marks the Music Directorial debut of Harsha Vardhan U, son of reputed music director Vidyasagar. Music director Harsha Vardhan U says, “I ha
Read more