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Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar

Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar (1999)

February. 03,1999
|
6
| Adventure Fantasy Comedy Family

Set in 50 B.C., Asterix and Obelix are living in a small but well-protected village in Gaul, where a magic potion concocted by Druids turns the townsfolk into mighty soldiers. When Roman troops carve a path through Gaul to reach the English Channel, Caesar and his aide de camp Detritus discover the secret elixir and capture the Druid leader who knows its formula, and Asterix and Obelix are sent off to rescue them.

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Reviews

Amy Edwards
1999/02/03

For the first real adaptation of the famous adventures of a bunch of indomitable Gauls fighting for their freedom against Caesar and his troops, this movie is doing quite well.This movie has several assets, the first one being its cast. it reunites some of the best known French superstars including the both main characters, Asterix and Obelix, starred respectively by Christian Clavier and Gerard Depardieu. They make a great and sympathetic duet, each one of them having the accurate tone and we feel they enjoyed themselves during the shooting. But the real star here is Roberto Benigni who stars as Detritus, the main antagonist in the movie. Benigni brings his clownishness and inexhaustible energy throughout the picture, making each of his scene really enjoyable and fun to watch. Having him among the cast is without a doubt the main asset of this movie. The only regret I have about the cast is Caesar. His character is not deep enough making him easily forgettable. Too bad, there was a great opportunity to make him at the same level than the other ones. Thankfully Alain Chabat gave him back his real place in the direct sequel.The other big asset is the story which respects the mainframe of the comics. The fans won't be lost in this movie because actually it is the one which respects the most the legacy of Uderzo and Goscinny. It is well written and has some great tempo. Some scenes are really enjoyable to watch like the first fights with the Romans or the festival at the end of the movie. The ambiance is a perfect match to the one in the comics. We can feel the director was really focusing about that aspect, something the other directors didn't as much. The first sequel while still respecting the general spirit of the comics, took some liberties from it which make it even funnier than the first movie. The two following sequels however completely got away from the mainframe and lose the magic. It turned more into a spoof than a real Asterix movie. So this first movie is probably the most appreciated one by the hardcore fans of the comics.

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david-sarkies
1999/02/04

I still don't know what to make of this film, but at least it was written by the French meaning that the original French flair that appears in the comics is present within this film. However, it was always going to be difficult to make a live action version of the comics since many of the characters in the comics (as is typical of the French) are so larger than life that it is going to be hard to capture that feel, and it a way that is how the film turned out. I am so used to seeing a cartoon Asterix that it was actually really difficult to pick Asterix out from the rest of the characters, and while Obelix was noticeable, he simply was nowhere near as well rounded (you never call him fat) as he is in the comics.This film is not based on one particular comic but appears to be a mix of a number of them. Obviously one of the comics is Asterix and the Soothsayer as the bogus soothsayer appears in the village with a scam to steal the Roman taxes and Asterix is the only one that sees through his scam. I suspect that the original comic, Asterix the Gaul is represented, and there are borrowings from other comics as well, such as Asterix and the Great Divide and Asterix and the Goths (though the Goths do not appear in this comic).This film, however, is still very entertaining, and even though it is the second time that I have seen it (after reading a number of the Asterix comics and really enjoying them) I have still enjoyed it. I quite liked the way that they did the magic potion, and you can tell that the film makers used every available technology to create the film. However, I suspect attempting to watch it as a person who speaks French as a second language would be quite difficult since they do speak quite fast.One thing I have noticed when I was in Europe are the films that are advertised in the various countries that I visited. If you go to Germany you will see that a bulk of the films advertised are all Hollywood films, however when you cross the border into France pretty much all of the Hollywood advertising disappears and are replaced by French films. Hong Kong (though not in Europe) seems to have a 50/50 split. I suspect that the reason for this is that Germany does not have a huge filmmaking industry, whereas the French and Hong Kong do (though it seems that the people of Hong Kong don't actually like Hong Kong cinema). Anyway, with most French films that I have encountered, I generally expect them to be better than their American counterparts.

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eijkriche
1999/02/05

There are lots of opportunities to make a movie from a bad or average comic, an old or otherwise forgotten comic. Who cares about those books anyway? But are there lots of opportunities to make a movie from a good comic, that can still be bought by dozens in any bookstore, that is fresh in the memory of many people? I don't think so. Asterix is considered a good comic. Not average or poor. Asterix is not old. I don't mean the character, because no character in a comic ever seems to grow older. I mean, this comic book series doesn't grow old. Every day, Asterix-readers die of age. And at the same time young children start to read Asterix. This doesn't apply for more than two or three other comic book series. At least here in Europe, where most comic books you read only appear in one or two neighbor countries, but rarely in the whole Roman empire. So, the makers of Astérix took a high risk. And they succeeded. There are many reasons to call this an Asterix-product, not just some movie based on a comic.

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lornajapan
1999/02/06

Although people are saying that the actors didn't capture the essence of the characters, I thought that most of them did! The only exceptions are Getafix, who didn't look at all wise, just demented, and Vitalstatistix who wasn't egotistical enough (Impedimenta was too tall as well). I thought Geriatrix and his wife were perfect, and Christian Clavier (who was also in the marvelous Les Visiteurs), was hilarious (especially when he got a spider in his mouth!) I have read all the Asterix comics, and I thought this film captured the essence perfectly, although, I agree, it would have been cool to see the pirates!10 out of 10!

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