Asterix and the Olympic Games – Astérix aux jeux olympiques (2008)

Directed by: Frédéric Forestier, Thomas Langmann | 130 minutes | comedy, adventure, family, fantasy | Actors: Clovis Cornillac, Gérard Depardieu, Alain Delon, Benoît Poelvoorde, Stéphane Rousseau, Vanessa Hessler, Michael Bully Herbig, Santiago Segura, Franc Dubosc, Bouli Lanners, Jose Garcia, Jérôme Le Banner, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Alexandre Astier, Luca Bizzarri Paolo Kessisoglu, Elie Semoun, Sim, Adriana Karembeu, Francis Lalanne, Dany Brillant, Elric Thomas, Dorothée Jemma, Zinedine Zidane

‘Asterix and the Olympics’ is not a historical film, almost falsifying history, because Brutus as the son of Caesar did not exist, and football and tennis were not invented in Greece. Fortunately, Asterix and Obelix did not exist either, which makes a difference. They are nice, but especially in the original comic form. Those legendary comics, which, masterfully drawn by Albert Uderzo, owe their great success mainly to the sophisticated characters and their mutual relationships and the typical humor of René Goscinny. Humor that is not lacking in this film, but which lacks the finesse that makes the comics so strong. It’s because the village relationships are not so widely measured and the focus is actually more on the battle for the Greek princess, with even Asterix and Obelix disappearing a bit into the background.

Most villagers are only briefly mentioned in this story. A leading role, on the other hand, is reserved for two characters who do not appear in the original comic at all. One of these is the role of Brutus, designed by the Belgian actor Benoit Poelvoorde, who, after his brilliant role in the equally brilliant and shocking ‘C’est arrivé près de chez vous’ from 1992, is no longer featured in any high-profile or large-scale production. has been to see. Although he tries very hard, his role is a bit disappointing. Whether that is due to himself, the script or the director is unclear. What is clear is that the best moments come mainly from his bodyguards, who are stupid and dry and slavish to their cruel master.

A beautiful role is also reserved for Alain Delon, who wonderfully portrays an extremely narcissistic Julius Caesar. Clovis Cornillac, who replaces Christian Clavier as Asterix, does a fine job but doesn’t stand out, which again probably isn’t due to his acting skills, although Gerard Depardieu in his role as Obelix, the heavy-boned romantic powerhouse, is still most faithful to the character from the comic. In any case, he proves that he can make something good out of every role.

The third Asterix doesn’t stand out in ingenuity and certainly not in depth, but neither did the other two. Still, the movie is absolutely entertaining. He’s not hilarious, but he’s fun. The story flows smoothly and is just a little too long. Much care and attention has been paid to the surroundings. The village of Asterix, the Roman city, Olympias, the bullring, everything looks beautiful. The overall atmosphere of the movie is good. The script could have been sharper, but ‘Asterix and the Olympics’ is quite worthwhile for those who want to relax for more than two hours. Note the funny cameo of soccer hero Zinedine Zidane, totally unnecessary, but fun.