Asterix and Obelix-The Middle Kingdom review: This 122-minute outing is utter disappointment
Director Guillaume Canet had a huge opportunity to go big with The Middle Kingdom but fails to deliver
Hyderabad: The comics starring Asterix and Obelix (the Gaulish warriors) were first published in 1959. The first movie came out in 1999. Since then, there have been five movies and multiple cartoons. Most of them have been centered around the small town where Asterix and Obelix resided.
To the uninitiated, both Asterix and Obelix are residents of a village of Gauls who have superhuman powers thanks to a magic potion. They are part of a gang that is resisting Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire. Though based on the characters, this outing is the first to not adopt a storyline from the comics. This is a revamp and Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé take their liberties in trying to script it.
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The plot is simple. It is 50 BC. The place, China (the Middle Kingdom). The Chinese Empress (Linh-Dan Pham) is imprisoned in a coup d’état orchestrated by the rouge prince Deng Tsin Qin (Bun Hay Mean). Her daughter Princess Fu Yi (Julie Chen) escapes with her faithful warrior Tat Han (Leanna Chea) and her protector, the Venetian merchant Graindemaïs (Jonathan Cohen).
They travel to the Gaul village to seek Asterix (Guillaume Canet) and Obelix’s (Gilles Lellouche) help. Asterix and Obelix travel to the Middle Kingdom to free the Empress.
To complicate things further, Julius Caesar (Vincent Cassel) now wants to conquer the Middle Kingdom so that he can get back into the good books of Cleopatra (Marion Cotillard). What happens and who wins is what the rest of the story is about.
Director Guillaume Canet had a huge opportunity to go big with The Middle Kingdom but fails to deliver. With a celebrity galore in the movie that has the likes of footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Belgian singer Angèle, the screen space becomes too crowded most times.
For those who have seen Asterix be short and wise will be disappointed with Canet’s portrayal of the character. The film is full of self-parodies and special effects. Take the instance where a carrier pigeon is emitting a sound reminiscent of that of an SMS or where a cart is in the shape of Citroen’s 2CV.
This 122-minute outing definitely does not deserve a second thought. An utter disappointment from the Frenchman.
