Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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)