And as for being dumbed down, well, how many recent British or American comedies have Latin gags? (Cleopatra's palace has "Domus Quietus Domus" above the door.) And this film has a visual allusion to Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa! Julian Barnes, eat your heart out. There's lots of stuff about Egyptians going about sideways on when somebody squares up to another for a fight, he shouts: "Come here and say that to my profile!"įor some, the idea of a funny mainstream commercial French film is about as plausible as an internationally successful French rock group. But - and I hardly know how to say it - this movie really did make me laugh a lot of the time, with a very silly, naughty script packed with sight gags and decent lines. Until now, I have found Asterix an acquired taste that I have yet to acquire, and matters weren't helped by the 1999 movie, which was released here in a dubbed version, with the execrable Roberto Benigni in superlatively unfunny form. This is a follow-up to 1999's Asterix & Obelix Take on Caesar, and again it has Christian Clavier and Gérard Depardieu in the leading roles. Our heroes journey to Egypt at the behest of Numerobis (Jamel Debbouze), a hapless architect, who must build an entire palace for Cleopatra (Bellucci) in three months, or get fed to the crocs. Now that I have your attention Once again, it was the most expensive French movie production of all time at the time, increasing its budget from the previous movie’s 40 million to over 58 million. If you can imagine Carry on Cleo mixed with Monty Python and the Holy Grail with a strong dash of Tex Avery, you'll have a clue. The Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra cast includes Monica Bellucci playing Cleopatra. But until then, she will have to make do with climbing into the asses' milk for this breezy, knockabout comedy, based on the classic French cartoon strip. She and her Julius form convincing mother and father figures for our resolutely turbulent Gaulish big children.M onica Bellucci is one of European cinema's most beautiful and charismatic performers - certainly talented enough, it seems to me, to merit getting the role of Cleopatra in some serious treatment. Caesar (1999) Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra (2002) Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008) Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012) Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom (2022) Video games. Getafix bears witness to this when, far from seeing this Queen of Queens as a mere caricature, he can't hide his admiration for this woman with whom he would like to rub noses. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (2014) Asterix: The Secret of the Magic Potion (2018) Live-action. When René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo discovered the film Cleopatra by Joseph Mankiewicz at a cinema in Brussels in 1963, you might say they really had flair! Inspired by Liz Taylor's performance in this film fit for a Pharaoh, our two friends immediately set to work drafting what was to become one of the most accomplished characters in the Asterix universe, Queen Cleopatra herself ! And what a Cleopatra! Irascible (her vases often pay the price of her bad humour!), magnanimous (she gracefully acknowledges her mistakes and forgives our favourite Gauls after having thrown them into a dungeon following a slight misunderstanding), loyal and authoritarian, but also superbly beautiful or playfully mocking with Caesar… No doubt about it, this colourful royal character bears the stamp of great authors, whose terrific talent makes it possible to dabble in caricature without sacrificing the consistency and depth of a truly complex character.
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