The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010) User Reviews (70)

An enjoyable film

[Ratter · 7/10 · 24 April 2010]

Having been lucky to find it was showing at the cinema, I must admit I jumped at the chance to see it being a fan of Luc Besson. I didn't really know what to expect (having only seen trailers for the movie) and I never read the original stories, however I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall the film was very funny and had some very good set pieces, including a very enjoyable scene in Egypt and a scene in a Parisian prison that reminded me of the slapstick nature of the original "Pink Panthers". Louise Bourgoin was very good as the titular heroine and was able to pull off both charm and dead-pan humour effectively throughout the film, making her a pleasure to watch.

However I must admit that at times the plot did wear thin at places and I would be lying if I didn't say that the story itself was very silly. At times it felt as though I was watching a cross between "The Mummy Returns" and "The Crystal Skull" (although this movie is a far superior specimen) while at other times the film reverted to a more serious adventure tone, unable to properly balance the two tones.

All in all I enjoyed the film and would happily see it again. If you are the sort of person who enjoyed "Sahara" and "National Treasure" then this film is for you. On the other hand fans of the more refined explorer films such as "Raiders" might find little to relate to. That being said I do hope for is that the film will be successful enough to merit a sequel, even if the ending does leave it on a rather pointless cliffhanger.

Luc Besson's almost family-friendly fantasy

[pygar61 · 7/10 · 9 April 2011]

An interesting alternative to Spielberg's Tintin. This adaption of a French graphic novel compares in many ways. Besson uses actors to represent comic book characters rather than the far more expensive motion-captured, computer-generated people of Tintin.

That's not to say there aren't extensive visual effects in Adèle. CGI portrays impossible characters, like the pterodactyl. Digital compositing is used to present Paris and Egypt of a hundred years ago. And for the more grotesque and bizarre human characters, there are elaborate prosthetic make-ups.

Adèle is on a trip to Peru to complete her latest book. That's what her publisher thinks. She's actually in Egypt raiding tombs. Why has she lied, and what has this to do with a pterodactyl terrorising Paris? The police can't believe that a prehistoric animal has killed a senior politician, they need to solve the case fast, no matter how much Adèle gets in their way...

Like the Tintin stories, there's a detailed and realistic presentation of the past, but with more magical and fantasy elements. Like Tintin, Adèle is also a writer, giving her the opportunity to travel. Similarly, her only real advantages are knowledge, contacts and personality - she doesn't bow to convention. It may not be ladylike to ride a camel, but if she needs to learn, she will. With a burning desire to succeed, she overcomes the odds with little more than an umbrella and a bag of bird seed...

As a newcomer to the stories, I loved the completely unpredictable nature of the story, and it's always nice to see a guillotine in action... This wasn't as consistently funny as it wanted to be, but maybe I was missing out on the Frenchier in-jokes. It could almost be a family film, though some of the more intense drama and some casual nudity might not be for younger viewers.

Luc Besson has mentioned that this story was a childhood favourite of his. He spent many years gaining the trust of the author, Jacques Tardi, who'd already dealt with three film studios trying to adapt the story. While this isn't as dark or as adult as many of Besson's earlier films, I think that's because he's committed himself to being as faithful to the original story as possible. While more likely to be the producer nowadays, after writing the script he couldn't allow another director make this one.

I haven't read any of the original stories yet, but I will. Actress Louise Bourgoin is far more beautiful than the grumpy character in the comics. The first two stories (which combined to form the basis for the film) have been translated into English as one volume.

Mark Hodgson (Black Hole Reviews)

Tardi in the cinema

[wimpur · 7/10 · 7 February 2011]

I am a Tardi fan. The comics by his hand are unique. I read the books in Dutch. The translator also changed the names of the characters from French to Dutch. In order to help the reader to understand the meaning. F.i. Adele Blanc-Sec is changed to Isabelle Avondrood. No problem. I still reread them. But now the movie. It is well made and entertaining. That one expect from Luc Besson. But there are some flaws, that the reader notices at once. Like another critic already wrote: the story is a mix of two of the novels and some Egyptian story lines. The actress playing Adele is kind of Rachel Weisz in the Mummy or one of Indiana Jones' sidekicks. That is a pity. Because the real Adele is sarcastic, a little bohemian and not really pretty. She dresses almost shabby. The storyline in the books show a France that is not so nice as the movie makes us believe. The policemen are incompetent, have no trouble beating up prisoners, lunatic scientists roam the street or hang out in the catacombs under the city. Homicidal maniacs want Adele dead, the Great War is not depicted as a heroic event, but one that left an nation with numerous deaths and invalids. That is the atmosphere in the books. And that is something I really miss in the movie. But, like I said already: it is good entertainment.

A Charmer

[Parks · 16 November 2011]

There are a number of rather sniffy reviews of this film on IMDb which are entirely unfair. It seems some viewers were misled by the preview and were expecting a French version of "The Mummy" or "Raiders". It really isn't at all. Despite featuring tomb-robbing, exciting escapes, prison breaks, pterodactyls and mummies this film is more like "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" with better jokes or "The Fifth Element" set in France at the start of the 20th century. It's a surreal adventure comedy that never takes itself seriously.

The plot has journalist and adventurer Adele attempting to retrieve the mummy of an Egyptian physician so that he can be brought back to life by an eminent professor who has studied arcane Egyptian rituals. Unfortunately, the eminent professor has been practising his life- restoring skills on a pterodactyl which proceeds to terrorise Paris and he (the professor) is sent to prison. Can Adele rescue him?

You'll have to watch to find out.

I really enjoyed this. It is definitely sort of kooky so please don't expect "Pirates of the Caribbean" or something like that. It's an extremely silly, but very entertaining 1 hour and 45 minutes that has more in common with the campy comic-book adventures of "Doc Savage" than Indiana Jones. The very matter-of-fact mummies are a hoot as is the pterodactyl. Most importantly of all, the jokes are actually funny and I found myself laughing out loud (something I rarely do).

p.s. For those of you who think this film sounds suitable for little 'uns, well it probably is apart from the fact that this is a French film and therefore the heroine gets in the nip. Tell the little tykes to turn their backs.

A Highly Entertaining and Funny Adventure

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 9 February 2013]

In 1911, in Paris, the bold journalist Adèle Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin) is assigned by her editor to travel to Peru to write about the Incas, but she goes to Egypt instead to seek out the mummy of a doctor of Ramses II to bring him to Paris. Adèle has an agreement with Professor Marie-Joseph Espérandieu (Jacky Nercessian) that has the ability of bringing the dead back to life to resurrect the doctor to heel her twin sister Agathe Blanc-Sec (Laure de Clermont), who has been catatonic and paraplegic for five years due to an accident caused by Adèle. However, Professor Espérandieu is arrested in prison and sentenced to death after bringing to life a pterodactyl from an ancient egg in Louvre that caused the death of three persons. Now the last hope of Agathe is that Adèle saves Professor Espérandieu from the guillotine.

"Les Aventures Extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec" is a highly entertaining and funny adventure by Luc Besson. Last week, I was zapping the television and I saw the last part of the adventure of Adèle Blanc- Sec. Today I have just watched this movie on DVD with my family and we really enjoyed the story. The weird and bizarre characters slightly recall the surrealism of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet in "Delicatessen and "La Cité des Enfants Perdus". My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "As Múmias do Faraó"("The Mummies of the Pharaoh")

Fun with La Blanc-Sec

[EdgarST · 7/10 · 30 March 2021]

Funny, wacky, silly adventure comedy, it falls a bit flat during the long parallel montage of Adèle's failed attempts to take Prof. Espérandieu out of jail, while Caponi and Saint-Hubert disguised as lambs wait to catch the pterodactyl. This is clean entertainment, based on a French comic, with robberty of national treasures in foreign lands, deaths, female abuse and enough violence, to keep it rooted to reality, but thankfully it is far from the ideologically offensive and brutish world of Indiana Jones and his bunch. Louise Bourgoin is a beautiful Adèle, Nercessian's performance is a pleasure to watch, Giraud is a charming suitor, Lellouch is a quirky relative of Inspector Clouseau, and Amalric, the perfect villain. Delighfully French main course for a Sunday matinee.

A Nutshell Review: The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec

[DICK STEEL · 7/10 · 2 November 2010]

French filmmaker Luc Besson has been responsible for some of the most enduring contemporary films from action thrillers like Nikita and Leon the Professional, to a personal science fiction cult favourite of mine The Fifth Element. Of late he has chosen to relinquish the director's chair and taking up story, scriptwriting and producing duties at his Europa Corp, although taking the chair back again with more family friendly adventures such as The Minimoys series, adapted from his series of children's books. His latest live-action adventure adapts from Jacques Tardi's series of comic books featuring a female adventurer quite like in the mold of Indiana Jones.

Adele Blanc-Sec (Louis Bourgoin) is smart, resourceful, and quite the alpha-female go-getter with a dash of sassiness about her, and these are precisely the kind of characters I suppose Luc Besson has been comfortable dealing with in his filmography. His Adele doesn't equip herself with weapons other than a rapid wit and a sharp tongue to disarm her enemies, setting her sights at far flung adventures where her publisher would send her to, though at times like this film, decide to detour and follow her own agenda. And for those taken in by the subtitle of the film promising something along the lines of Stephen Sommer's The Mummy films, let's just say to drop those expectations, because there isn't any Imhotep to lock horns with.

Besson keeps you guessing for the most parts as he unravels the story before you, opting to place you in suspense as you figure out how the multiple sub plot lines will come together and make relatable sense. It assumes that you have some knowledge of the basis of the lead character, but fills you in along the way nonetheless. With plot devices such as a Pterodactyl hatched from an egg in a museum and now taking to the skies of Paris, the attempts to capture that flying dinosaur by inept hunter Justin de Saint-Hubert (Jean-Paul Rouve), a promise of a romance between the shy scientist Andrej Zborowski (Nicholas Giraud) and Adele, and the need for Adele to steal a mummy from Egypt, all boil down to the extreme lengths the titular adventurer will go to save a family member.

Of course there's a need to keep things balanced up, so in contrast to the more dogged Adele comes on the side of the law, the bumbling police inspector Leonce Caponi (Gilles Lellouche) with a penchant for food, a need to be found from the mysterious psychic powers of ally Marie-Joseph Esperandieu (Jacky Nercessian), and a clash of good and evil with the villainy of an unrecognizable Mathieu Amalric as Dieuleveult with whom Adele crosses with early on in the story. It's a pity though that Amalric's screen presence was limited as his character Dieuleveult had so much potential, but the extraordinary adventures were indeed split down to Adele's quest, and everything else, peppered with a handful of quirky characters set to entertain, and a series of wry humour especially on that oh-so-familiar critique of society's top down approach to get things done which was brilliantly executed.

There''s no scrimping on the production values of this period piece set just before WWI and an infamous tragedy that marked the dangers of human arrogance, which should make a follow up film quite interesting should the filmmakers pick up from where they left off. Incredible production sets and costumes are what beautify the film, and the CG effects used to enhance the viewing experience went fuss-free, although it didn't break much new ground since movie audiences weaned on the Hollywood Mummy franchise would already be accustomed to how mummies move and behave, albeit with less civility.

Unfortunately though, the film did not manage to survive unscathed. I was looking forward to a scene where our heroine would be sitting in the bathtub and reading out letters of infatuation written by Andrej as she had hinted she would, only for a quick jump cut made and you're left high and literally dry. Having watched the dubbed English version during this screening, I will recommend that you head on to The Cathay to watch this so that you can immerse yourself in the aural pleasures of the French language and get by through the English subtitles (if you don't speak French) because while it's a relatively competent voice cast trying their best to emote as they could, I'm quite the stickler for authenticity and whatever's coming out of a character's mouth to be in sync with their lip movement, and have to struggle not to be too perturbed by it.

The opening film of this year's French Film Festival in Singapore, don't walk out just yet when the credits roll, as there's a coda that comes up midway. Don't berate what's essentially a fantasy piece that occasionally found pleasure dwelling on the absurd, but prepare for something that's visually gorgeous, narratively unusual and outlandishly entertaining.

A good idea.

[nickrogers1969 · 2/10 · 27 February 2012]

I love the Adèle Blanc-Sec comic books so I looked forward to watching this. The film is quite faithful to the plot of the comics and the characters in the movie are extraordinarily alike their drawn equivalents. But the similarity stops there. The mysterious atmosphere of the comic books are sadly replaced by very broad humor thus making the a children's movie out of the adult comics.

I was also disappointed by the actress in the lead role as she was far too young healthy and beautiful to play the strange Adèle of the comic series. The CGI effects didn't help and it was too brightly filmed. It was tiresome with all the swooping camera views. The slow bullet through the air has been done a million times before.

The director did not seem to trust the source. This could have been a cool, strange and bloody version of the comic books but instead it was too childish for grown-ups. I am not surprised there is no sequel to this film.

Beautifully filmed fantasy in minutely reconstructed early 20th century Paris

[AlxP-64 · 8/10 · 3 December 2010]

"Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec" is a good film. It almost qualifies for very good, but there a few small details which are poorly executed and which bar it from reaching its full potential.

The film has three excellent elements: masterful pacing, perfect editing and a great leading actress. Louise Bourgoin carries the movie with no apparent effort; the character of Mlle. Adèle Blanc-Sec "comme le vin" (*) fits right in with the minutely reconstructed Paris near the beginning of the 20th century. The quick pacing and seamless editing convey the thrill of moving from panel to panel in a comics (**) book (and I suspect that this was the intended effect).

(*) "Blanc sec" is French for "dry white". She helpfully tells a police officer that her name is "Dry White, as the wine", adding that he probably knows very well how to spell that.

(**) (For Americans) Note that in France and Belgium (and in Italy, to some extent) comics ("B.D." for "bandes dessinées") are an art form bearing little resemblance with Marvel's productions.

To get the most from the film you should watch it in the original French -- if you understand French, of course (subtitles may help). Part of the zany humor derives from the untranslatable undertones and rhythm of the dialog and narration.

The small details which detract from the overall beauty of the film consists in a few brief scenes where the computer-generated special effects should have been better. Carelessness is the word -- the vast majority of scenes containing CGI are well executed.

Fancy kid stuff from France, not quite ready for the global market

[Chris Knipp · 7/10 · 9 June 2010]

In this breezily far-fetched mixture of Mary Poppins and Lara Croft, popular novelist Adèle Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin) must save a crazy expert who has brought a pterodactyl to life, so he can bring an Egyptian mummy back to life, and it can in turn use ancient magic to revive her sister, who has been dead or in a coma for four years following a bizarre tennis accident. This is a comic imbroglio adapted from the 1970's graphic novels of Jacques Tardi and brought to the screen by big Euro producer Luc Besson. The humor is a bit heavy-handed, the early twentieth-century feel is hardly precise and Bourgoin's behavior lacks finesse, but Besson has a gift for spectacle. Matthieu Amalric and Jean-Paul Rouve are also featured. Adèle rides the pterodactyl around like characters in Avatar. Mastering your pet monster and turning it into a means of rapid transportation is becoming a commonplace video-game-into-movie gimmick. There's a handsome young scientist madly in love with Adèle, who's got no use for him. Luckily he meets her sister after she's been revived by the mummy. The movie's excessive enthusiasm for makeup is revealed in Amalric's unrecognizable look as the evil Dieuleveult, and Adèle's series of disguises as a fat cook, nun, doctor, etc. visiting the prison vainly trying to liberate Professor Ménard. Fancy kid stuff from France, not likely to translate well to the global market but further evidence of the French skill at complicated production. Seen in Paris on opening day in April 2010 at the classic old cinema on the Rue de Babylone, La Pagode.

A disappointment for Tardi's Adèle fans

[JoaoNeto · 5/10 · 21 April 2010]

(CONTAIN SPOILERS)

For a reader of Tardi's comic this movie is very silly. A mix of the 1st and 4th book (but with quite weak modifications that who knows how went into the final script version). It includes a horrible Egypt sub-story making Adèle a female Indiana Jones (?) explaining how the mummy got to Adèle's apartment (I wish I never knew...). We learn that the Egypt plot is just another attempt from Adèle to save her sister from a tennis accident (?) This story line has no relevance to the main story and only add minutes to the movie's runtime. In fact the movie, for me, as a reader of the original comic, does not make any type of sense (Ramses II at an exposition in the Louvre? What is she doing in the Titanic? They must be thinking about sequels, beware!). Even the beautiful actress is not right for the character of Adèle. Cinema is a different media but that is not an excuse to destroy or ridicule classic content for the sake of who knows what. I give 5/10 because there are still good moments, faithful to Tardi's stories (the majority of the casting is good, the first minutes or the hierarchy phone callings are well done). A missed opportunity from the director of "The Fifth Element" with the material of a great comic.

Funny entertainment

[linounettematha · 8/10 · 7 July 2010]

"Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec" is just the kind of movie you would like to see after a day of hard work. It's funny, crazy without being stupid, rich in adventure. This zany comedy may not be faithful to the original comic (I haven't read it) and the story is hardly believable but it's certainly entertaining with nice costumes, beautiful sets from early 20th century Paris and good actors.Children ten or older will love the adventure thing in the movie, with dinosaurs, talking mummies and secret Egyptian tombs. Weird, freaky, sometimes a little bit scary and always funny. Louise Bougoin(Adèle) is beautifully charming, clever and funny, as well as the rest of the cast.

This movie has got a little "Amélie Poulain" feeling with its fantasy, and if the plot isn't very credible, I still had a very good time watching it for it's always surprising and hilarious.

Good enough to rise from eternal slumber for 107 minutes and not more

[moviexclusive · 6/10 · 3 November 2010]

The movie world's interest in comic book adaptations does not seem to wane anytime soon with the latest one to reach our shores being Adèle. Now before you fan boys start wondering whether she's from Marvel or DC, just know that she's a hugely-popular Franco-Belgian comic book character and no, she doesn't have any superpowers. However, she does make up for it with feistiness, and gung ho courage that would give Indiana Jones a run for his ancient gold. Those who grew up on a childhood staple of Tintin and Snowy's adventures could definitely appreciate Adèle.

In fact, the movie itself is more of a funny action-adventure flick than a contemporary comic book adaptation, so those who are looking forward to a gritty dark tone a la the recent batman movies or whatever Zack Snyder comes out with (minus that owl cartoon) would not find it here.

But don't let the title fool you into thinking that the movie uses the predictable plot of Mummy horror where a long-dead associate of some Pharaoh is foolishly awaken and immediately wreaks havoc and unleashes curses on humanity, because it's not. Director Luc Besson attempts to really carry the audience through its own adventure with several unpredictable plot twists that are hilariously quirky and surreal and also quite typically French. Famous for shooting a young Natalie Portman and Milla Jovovich to fame in 'Léon: The Professional' and 'The Fifth Element' respectively, Besson's choice of heroine this time is Louise Bourgoin – a former weather girl of France's popular night talk show, Le Grand Journal. Far from her days of looking good on TV while reporting on rain and sunshine, Bourgoin is easily likable as she plays the heroine's spunk and resourcefulness like a true spunky and resourceful heroine should – without the use of feminine wiles.

Except for one scene early in the movie where she desperately needed to escape the evil clutches of a villain, Adele does not suddenly turn sexy to squirm her way out of a sticky situation. Considering the slapstick comedy and witty humour ever present in the movie to appeal to children and families, Adele's neutered sexuality is not really out of place. In fact, Adèle is acted out with such endless tomboy aggression that at times, one feels that it's Indy himself in an early 20th century dress.

The costume and look of the characters are also other things to be enjoyed. Trust the fashionable French for taking particular care in choosing beautiful period dresses for Adèle herself to ruin with her lack of fear for pterodactyl rides or dusty mummy coffins. For those who have watched Golden Globes 2008's Best Foreign Film, 'The Diving Bell and The Butterfly' and remember Mathieu Almaric, the actor who played stroke-paralyzed Elle French Editor, it would be a challenge trying to identify him under the ugly villain makeup. Adèle herself is transformed under multiple hilarious yet realistic disguises that include a fat grumpy prison cook and a male lawyer among others as she attempts to jailbreak a comrade.

Overall, the movie is just simply family fun. Even though the whole thing would be forgotten after that post-movie toilet trip, the laugh out loud comedy and fantasy element are enough to remind us why most of us bother to spend a few dollars for a few hours of sitting in the dark – to escape.

• www.moviexclusive.com

Odd.

[rachel-673-19946 · 4/10 · 25 November 2010]

What a deeply peculiar movie. In concept, in story, in casting and execution, it is just… odd. Even odder, I imagine, for me than for audiences who got to see it in the original French, since I saw dubbed into English -- with Mandarin subtitles. So yeah. Peculiar.

Our story centers around intrepid reporter Adèle Blanc-Sec (Louise Bourgoin), one of your Rachel-Weisz-in-THE MUMMY-type lady explorers from the very early 20th Century. She has a catatonic sister, a biting sense of humor and a bizarre agenda. There is also some grave robbing, a pterodactyl, blundering French bureaucrats, the least secure prison ever captured on film (seriously, and I thought the city of Townsville's jail was easy to escape) and necromancy. Of mummies.

Adèle herself is a madwoman, charming in an arrogant, dismissive and eminently self-serving way. She is brave to the point of foolhardiness, and is very, very beautiful. But definitely mad. Anyone who could so cavalierly rob a Pharaoh's tomb and then get up close and personal with a mummy in a sarcophagus is… well, impressively single-minded is one way to put it. Crazily obsessed would be another.

In love with Adèle is brilliant young scientist Andrej Zborowski (Nicolas Giraud), who knows a thing or two about pterodactyls (I mentioned the pterodactyl, right?), and enables one of the coolest scenes in the movie: Adèle flying above Paris on one. In fact, the shots of the pterodactyl at large above Gay Paree are universally pleasing, and make up for much that is unsatisfactory elsewhere in the film.

One of the biggest failings of Adèle is the truly dire manner in which it tries so valiantly to make us laugh. Maybe it's a failure of translation, maybe it's just that, as Harry from DUMB AND DUMBER would have it, "the French are assholes", but for the most part, the jokes fall flat and the broad and obvious characterization of some of the movie's more tiresome presences -- the greedy detective, Caponi (Gilles Lellouche), the icky rival treasure hunter, Dieuleveult (Mathieu Amalric), the ridiculous big game hunter de Saint-Hubert (Jean-Paul Rouve), the comedy drunkard Choupard (Serge Bagdassarian) -- are simply groan-inducing.

The only saving graces of this movie, apart from the pterodactyl, are the reanimated mummy Patmosis (Régis Royer) -- and, yes, obviously the mummy gets reanimated, it's right there in the title, Spoiler Nazis! -- and the titular Adèle, although even she, at times, falls victim to an overwhelming need to employ some unbearable puns.

Much of the problem here may, of course, lie in the fact that these lines are delivered in accents other than the ones in which there were intended to be heard. Can I just say, here and now, how much I hate dubbed movies? (Wait, why am I asking? It's my review: of course I can!) So… I hate dubbed movies. Sure, I get why such is necessary in a children's movie… but if this is truly supposed to be a children's movie, then the entirety of France's youth should be put into protective custody immediately. Because this is not a movie for the young (Adele smokes and gets naked; sometimes, both at once) and yet, it's not terribly grown up either. I don't really get who this movie was made for at all, really. Or, indeed, why it was made at all.

Much as I have adored Luc Besson's work in the past, I must say that this one is what the kids nowadays call an Epic Fail. Although I did appreciate what I can only hope was a call back to his masterpiece, THE FIFTH ELEMENT, with one of Adele's faithful Egyptian guides being named Aziz. ("Aziz, light!") Unless that name comes from the original graphic novel, of course, and I am giving Besson too much credit for cleverness.

Which, after this truly befuddling exercise in cinematic oddity, I don't know that I shall be inclined to do ever again.

The review first appeared in Geek Speak Magazine: geekspeakmagazine (dot) com.

Tardi in Besson clothes

[Vincentiu · 18 May 2014]

adventures. humor. splendid images and perfect choice for the lead role. nice performance and the same Basson. a film who not gives nothing unexpected but confirms a lot. a movie who has flavor of fairy tale and charm of French cinema but who is defined by fine manner to present an original story in a precise manner , using fireworks, interesting cast and few drops of cultural references for better level of entertainment. a show in deep sense, in Luc Besson style, who , after its end, remains charming at whole. a courageous young woman and her fight for noble purpose. one of films who opens a large window to childhood memories.

French fantasy adventure feature film well written, produced and directed by Luc Besson and loosely based on the comic book series

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 18 September 2011]

An adventure set in the early part of the 20th century and set in Paris in the years before and after WWI, revolve around the protagonist Adèle Blanc-Sec in a succession of far-fetched incidents . It is loosely based on the comic book series of the same name by Jacques Tardi and, as in the comic, follows the eponymous writer and a number of reoccurring side characters in 1910s Paris and beyond, in this episode revolving around parapsychology and ultra-advanced Ancient Egyptian technology. A cynical heroine, she is initially a novelist of popular fiction, who turns to investigative journalism as her research and subsequent adventures reveal further details of the mystical world of crime. It starts with the popular novelist named Adele ( rising central star Louise Bourgoin) and her dealings with would-be suitors (Amalric), a Police Inspector (Lellouch), a Pterosaur , and other distractions . She finds herself involved after returning from Egypt, where she was searching for Ramesses II's mummified doctor. She wants to revive the mummy with the help of Espérandieu (Nercessian) so the Egyptian doctor can save her sister Agathe (Clermont) .

This entertaining film packs fantasy , Science and action which both pastiche and subvert adventure and speculative fiction of the period ¨Belle Epoque¨. The popularity of the comic has made it much in demand for adaptation into other media, the first to be approved by Tardi being a projected trilogy of live-action feature films adapted and directed by Luc Besson, the first of which, also titled like the comic book The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec was released in France on April 14, 2010 and latterly in numerous other markets, including the United Kingdom. The picture incorporates contemporary action film as well as much use of computer animation to portray its fanciful elements , furthermore visual effects within the form of the older-style adventure films they have largely superseded. Atmospheric musical score by Eric Serra , fitting splendidly to action and intrigue . Colorful cinematography by Thierry Arbogast and perfectly remastered . The motion picture is lavishly produced by Eurocorps (Besson Production Company) and professionally directed by Luc Besson with his ordinary visual pyrotechnics . He often casts Jean Reno (though here doesn't appear) and music always by Eric Serra. Besson is the greatest producer and director from France with hits as ¨Leon¨ , ¨Joan of Arc¨ , ¨The fifth element¨ , the ¨Taxi¨ series , ¨Big blue¨ , ¨Arthur and the Minimois¨ , ¨Nikita¨ and many others . Rating : Acceptable and passable, 6 .This is a highly amusing and frequently funny action-adventure romp with a witty script, sensational special effects and a terrific performances from main cast .

It's OK but French can make it better

[mani-nanna-650-157348 · 6/10 · 14 September 2010]

As a child I watched many old French comedies, which being old even in 80s and 90s, still were much fun because of legendary actors like Pierre Richard, Jean-Paul Belmondo Luis De Funes, André Bourvil etc. and typical French humor.

Watching The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec I had the feeling that some part of what I liked most about French comedies is right there, in this movie, but I also had the feeling that time to time, humor is forced, stretched and too artificial.

Actors do a nice job. They have this typically French expressiveness and gesticulative manner of interacting. They bring the comedy more by their facial expressions than by the words they say or acts they do.

Story is unbelievable but of course can past in the film like this, the problem is, even in fantasies, where you are allowed to make up anything, you still need to justify things somehow. The film fails in that, but it doesn't loose much because of that, cause anyway... Plot is not the most interesting part about this movie.

The film was slow paced time to time and jokes were ranging from good, to very flat. Overall, I can recommend this work to all fans on light-hearted comedies. This won't be your best ever movie, but you won't say you lost part of your life wasting either.

5 stars for the mediocre film + 1 star for the joke about pyramid (near the end of the film) = 6 stars overall.

Enjoyable Entertaining Zany French Comedy

[mrcibubur · 6/10 · 24 October 2010]

Gosh, this is a difficult movie to truly assess and I can see from the other reviews that opinions, though few, are definitely divided. Make no mistake, this is a silly and funny film, it will make you chuckle or laugh but it wont make you burst out into fits of hysteria.

The prehistoric bird and Egypt connection take some thinking about but never mind that, the story is a curious but acceptable one and the drama of the film itself and the sheer cinematography are a delight for sure. The leading actress does her part well and there are some very touching and memorable moments.

very much a film for the French I feel but I watched it with the English subtitles. I know nothing of the comics from which the story derives and I don't want to. the film sufficiently entertains and it is a film with a difference.

difficult to assist because it is 'no' Indiana Jones' which draws obvious comparison with the Egypt storyline but this is a splendid film in its own right and enjoy it for what it is.

Not a good year for dry white wine...

[p-stepien · 1/10 · 3 October 2011]

The fin de siècle in Paris was a terrible place to be. Infested with tourist-crazed mummies, dog-catching pterodactyls and brain-damaged police-men (but then again it wouldn't be a Luc Besson movie without the latter?) it doesn't seem like a nice place to spend your summer. And unfortunately it isn't. Even if you have Lara Croft's predecessor Adele Blanc-Sec as the swashbuckling, thigh swinging tour guide. In a collage of nonsense, bad taste and poor pacing time swirls by without a giggle, but with a decent dosage of snores.

Over-the-top and absurd, but not in the idiotically brilliant Monty Python fashion, it feels like an unwanted marriage between French slapstick and American teen comedies. The characters fly by without any build-up dashing from prank scene to prank scene and not even the best animated attempts at reviving mummies change the fact, that their humour is drier than their skin.

Honestly not a single element of this movie held any sway whatsoever on my attention, so in an attempt to save readers from an entourage of abuse towards Besson's newest artistic flop, I'll keep it simple: Don't bother. Even if you have a large needle protruding through your brain.

A fantastic, lighthearted movie

[catblack-692-314355 · 10/10 · 25 November 2010]

I found this film to be highly entertaining. I wasn't aware of it's comic book origins, but they come as no surprise. I did have high expectations having enjoyed most every movie I've seen by Luc Besson. In that, it did not disappoint.

This is not a movie you will be taking seriously. But there's the charm that you'd find in french director Jeunet's films (like Amélie or City of Lost Children) but without the smarm of Micmacs. Also at work here is Besson's great use of expressive, diverse faces and superb sets and costumes like in his The 5th Element. A few charming plot twists that would never come from a Hollywood film and you've got a ticket to a highly entertaining movie.

Louise Bourgoin is excellent in the lead role. She fits marvelously into this detailed 1911 and is both charming and resourceful. I hope to see her again.

Overall I came into this film not expecting much but started grinning in the first ten minutes and left with a smile. It's not without plot holes and some occasional barely passable special effects. But it's got heart, whimsy and a steampunk Paris that delights the imagination.

Strange....really, really strange.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 May 2015]

This is one strange movie! Luc Besson directed and wrote this odd film based on a comic book series. As for the film, it DOES have a comic book or movie serial quality about it--with many odd happenings indeed--including a pterodactyl and walking, talking zombie Egyptians!

The story is about Adele and her quest to revive an ancient Egyptian doctor. Why? So she can get him to use his skills to revive her somewhat dead sister. I say somewhat because she's sort of in a between state--all of which Adele blames herself for and which motivates her in this action film which seems a bit like an Indiana Jones film with a female lead circa 1912.

So is this film any good? Well, it's very watchable--mostly because of its strangeness. As for the special effects, they are amazing but not quite up to Hollywood standards...but still very nice. Not my favorite sort of French film, as I like stories more about real people (and this is about as unreal as you can get!) but still well worth seeing.

Complete tosh

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 27 March 2014]

THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC is the latest movie from the normally reliable French director Luc Besson, and sad to say it's a complete piece of nonsense. Apparently the big-screen adaptation of some popular French comic books, this sees the titular character embarking on a whimsical fantasy adventure involving dinosaurs and mummies.

It's as silly as it sounds, but I had hoped for some exotic, globe-trotting intrigue - after all, we mustn't forget that the French are the ones who brought us the wonderful TINTIN comics, after all. But this turns out to be an oddball affair through and through, with the humour aimed at a distinctly juvenile audience and yet adult scenes elsewhere.

Sadly, this is one of those films that delights in sub-par CGI animation, so the pterodactyl scenes are pretty naffy. The nadir comes with a pair of CGI animated gorillas - don't expect RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES style quality here, these two are horrendous and it makes me wonder about the state of film-making when it's cheaper to animate two gorillas than to simply visit the zoo and film them with a traditional camera.

There are many familiar French faces in the cast, including Mathieu Amalric (MUNICH) and Giles Lellouche (POINT BLANK), but most play caricatures hidden beneath prosthetics and make-up. Louise Bourgoin's titular heroine is a real bitch of a character, somebody who's rude and hateful to everybody around her, so that makes her hard to warm to. In fact, the only stuff I enjoyed in this film were the reanimated mummies, who are genuinely funny and wacky creations. Everything else is a chore.

A French adventures / fantasy great.

[gil_jade-1 · 10/10 · 5 February 2011]

Well, I love Luc Bessons fantasies, and The Fifth element is one of my all time favorites. If you love that film, just run and see this one, and never mind what the high brow critics have to say. I have not read Tardi's novels, though I'd like to, but my French level is inadequate. Even though, I can not help feeling the spirit of the original was kept, though of course some plots were added. Being a Francophile certainly helps enjoying this romp, but surely is not necessary. I watched it with my 10 year old children and we enjoyed the film equally. The production values and costumes especially are gorgeous, and I just love that Besson sense of humor. Although sometimes a bit juvenile, or slapstic I'll take it any way it comes. I heard the movie did not do well at the box office in France and just can not understand why, I do hope it gets a wider worldwide release and certainly hope there is a sequel.

"Now we've mastered the unbelievable, let's perform the impossible."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 24 November 2019]

Funny how any number of IMDb movie reviewers hone in on the same characteristics of a film. While watching I had the sense that the story here was derivative of the Indiana Jones and Mummy flicks, and so did a lot of others. It's directed by Luc Besson in a humorous and amusing way, though I thought some of the CGI work wasn't up to par. Take the pterodactyl for example - considering how far we've come since 1993's "Jurassic Park", the flying reptile here looked mediocre by comparison, while the mummies, funny in their own way, were kind of stilted in their motion and mannerisms. The heroine, Adèle Blanc-Sec, portrayed by Louise Bourgoin, had a kind of edge to her personality that could have been improved with a bit more humor written into the character. The symbiotic relationship between Espérandieu (Jacky Nercessian) and the pterodactyl was an interesting touch, while the story of Adèle's sister Agathe (Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre) and her tennis accident was particularly gruesome. The elements all come together eventually for a satisfactory resolution, with Adèle simulating some of the Harrison Ford antics from the Indiana Jones series. It's entertaining enough in it's off beat way, but at the same time leaves one wanting for just a bit more.

A great disappointment

[arminhage · 1/10 · 22 September 2014]

I have to admit that I never finished the movie and turned off the player at approximately 60 minutes mark, I know it is an embarrassing confession but the movie was so bad I just couldn't continue. I was total waste of time. I may look at IMDb ratings before watching a movie but never read a review before actually seeing one so my expectation of the movie relies purely on the movie itself. I am very strict on my standards. I expect to know who is the hero of the movie by 10% mark. Well we know by the title that Adele Blanc is supposed to be the hero but there is no sign of her before 13% mark and after that we see her in some sort of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" parody mini adventure which has nothing to do with the resolve of the movie, just an introduction and I would say that the introduction came rather late and wasted too much time. If GOD FORBID I were to write the screenplay, I would put the parody-introduction section along with the dinosaur thing moving back and forth between Egypt and Paris so at least by 10% mark, the audience knows both the hero and also have some idea about the direction of the movie so I would say the screenplay was sectioned in the worst way possible. Now back the whole dinosaur thing... really? A flying dinosaur???? I would replace the whole dinosaur thing with a revived mummy escaped from the museum causing trouble, I guess that would be more appealing to the audience. Anyways, there is absolutely no connection between the hero and the dinosaur anytime sooner than 50% mark and in a good screenplay, the hero should at least hear about the dino at 10% mark. 10% to 50% is a huge gap and I wonder how Lub Besson even considered making a movie based on such a bad screenplay nevertheless an insanely ridiculous plot not even worthy of a children's TV movie. I don't know how the movie is going to resolve as I never finished it but I watched it enough to say that the movie is insanely bad and unwatchable. Sometime i chose an actor or director and watch his movies, probably because I liked a work of him so it was Luc Besson's time. He showed some talent but never got it right and never delivered a descent movie, his movies are often produced very well but grossly fail in plot and screenplay. I know he is French and European standards are different that Hollywood's, Europeans tend to make more boring intellectual unresolved movies but when it comes to Hollywood imitations , I expect Hollywood standards. Great disappointment!