Asterix e Obelix no Reino do Meio

Of course I am well-familiar with the Asterix and Obelix characters, as I loved reading the comic books when I was a kid. I just never got around to watching the live action movies, for some reason, though I did watch the cartoons when I was a kid as well.

And thus, as I had the opportunity here in 2023 to sit down and watch "Astérix & Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu" (aka "Asterix and Obelix The Middle Kingdom"), I did so. And I have to say that I was genuinely and positively entertained by director Guillaume Canet's movie. It looked and felt very much like what you had and have in the comics, so that was quite good.

Writers Julien Hervé and Philippe Mechelen put together a rather enjoyable and funny script and storyline for the movie. Again, it felt and looked like what you get in the comics, so it was a hit right on the head. Lots of good entertainment throughout the course of the 112 minutes that the movie ran for.

The acting performances in the movie were good, and leading actors Philippe Mechelen (playing Astérix) and Gilles Lellouche (playing Obélix) carried the movie quite well. It was also good to see the likes of Vincent Cassel (playing César), Julie Chen (playing Tat Han) and Julie Chen (playing Princesse Fu Yi) on the screen. Even soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic (playing Antivirus) shows up in the movie in a funny role.

Visually then "Astérix & Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu" was good. Good special effects without going over into the deep end, thus letting children enjoy the movie as well.

Something that could have been better in the movie was the fact that everyone spoke French. It made zero sense why the Romans and the Chinese also spoke French.

I thoroughly and genuinely enjoyed "Astérix & Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu", and it is a movie that I will warmly recommend. My rating of "Astérix & Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu" lands on a six out of ten stars.

I never grew up with asterix and obelix and im not too familier with them, but I really thought this was a pretty entertaining movie. The only daughrer of the queen of china has to be escorted back. And the only people that can help her are the two brave heries asterix and obelix. They make a great team and watching their antics was fun. But of course like with most films like this there are villians not to far behind. This time ceaser and cleopatra are their along with another man who is trying to steel the princesses affection, that asterix would like a bit of. The cast of this film played their roles well and the directing was good. Their was enough action and some laughs and overall pretty good.

I was skeptical of this movie and did not plan on seeing it in a cinema, but then when the opportunity to view it in a small local theatre arose, I went for it. The advantage of the local theater that is in walking distance is that you can drink alcohol during the viewing. I managed 3 lagers and sadly that was not enough.

To be completely honest, there are things to like about this movie. Some of the jokes worked. The costumes, locations, effects and overall production value is very good. Ceasar and Cleopatra were fun to watch and carry the movie IMO. Why the bad rating you ask? I am sorry, but I cannot give any more points to a movie called Asterix & Obelix which gets the main character so completely wrong. It is a fundamental flaw that I can't get past. Asterix is supposed to be a smart, funny and likeable character. What have we got in this movie? He doesn't want to eat meat (but does anyway) and doesn't want to rely on the magic potion (but does anyway). The Magic potion side of things could have been a setup to showcase his wit and have him outsmart his oponents, such plotlines were done before but no, he just takes the potion as a hypocrite and carries on. Oh and there is a pointless loveinterest subplot. Imagine seeing this movie as your first encounter with Asterix and Obelix, which it for many kids probably is. The character onscreen is a nonagreable pretentios whiny hypocrite. Why anyone would want to watch any movies with THIS charater is baffling.

So much money spent on this movie and they couldn't afford anyone to write a decent script? It becomes more frustrating when you compare it to the last Animated movie, the secret of the magic potion. If you go one step beyond that, you get the excellent Mansion of the Gods movie, which means that there still are people who can write an engaging Asterix story out there.

This movie actually does more harm than it would if it were not made at all. If it does well at the box office, more such trash will be made. If it does poorly at the box office, the producers will think that the IP is dead and it can hinder any further Asterix movies ever being made. If future movies are to be made in the same spirit I guess the lesser evil would be not to have any more movies.

If you are a fan, then avoid this movie. If you are not, I can't see how this movie would turn you into one. Just forget it.

This film is an insult to Goscinny's work, which has already been well damaged.

Some people think that the film is offensive or incorrect and that this is the reason for the negative reviews, but let me reassure you, it is not. It is a pretext. The movie sucks, plain and simple. The story consists of a series of scenes that aim to place as many people as possible who are known (only in France for the most part) and who have no acting skills. Even the well-known and usually professional actors pale in comparison.

I didn't retain a single positive point. Oh yes, among the jokes, each one more desolate than the other, the lengths that are not funny at all (personally I would be ashamed if I had made such a lousy movie, I would have hidden and would never have assumed) and the script that would have been better if it had been written by a 9 year old.

Finally, this film is everything that is wrong with French cinema, plus the budget. You put your buddies, celebrities, you ask for a maximum of subsidies for a null result, and you take advantage of your knowledge in the media to inflate the box office and talk about this film every day as if the French cinema depended on it.

And personally, what I found most lamentable is that Guillaume Canet (the director) has arrogated to himself the role of the main character when he is not at the level.

It doesn't make you laugh, it makes you cry.

Some funny moments but too many long sequences without jokes and, to be frank, not interesting. One kungfu fight would have been enough.

Totally useless cameo by soccer player Zlatan Something.

I liked the new Obelix, Gilles Lelouche gave to the character a lot that was missing in the lazy Depardieu acting. Canet was rather ineffective as Astérix. The character is supposed to be smart and funny, he played him as a bumbling idiot. A vegan Astérix ? What a stupid idea.

Cotillard was a very nice Cléopatre for the whole minute she is on screen. Cassel was, as usual, quite convincing as César. But his entourage was lackluster.