Astérix aux jeux olympiques (2008) - film review

Alafolix is madly in love with the Greek princess Irina, but she will not consent to marry him unless he wins the Olympic Games.  Accompanied by his fellow Gauls, including Astérix and Obélix, Alafolix sets out for Athens, confident of success.  On its arrival in the Greek metropolis, the Gaul party is horrified to learn that no competitor in the games can make use of Panoramix’s magic potion.  Worse still, Brutus, the villanous son of the Roman Emperor César, has also entered the competition and intends to win, by whatever means he chooses...

With a budget of 78 million euros and a cast that includes some of the biggest names in French cinema, it is not hard to see why Astérix aux jeux olympiques was anticipated as being the biggest hit of 2008.  Although it was by no means a flop (it attracted an audience of nearly seven million in France alone), its performance at the box office was dwarfed by a far more modest comedy, Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, proving that all that glitters is not gold.  In fact, in the comedy stakes Astérix aux jeux olympiques would be lucky to get away with the bronze.   

This latest live action Astérix film does not compare favourably with the two films that preceded it, Claude Zidi’s Astérix et Obélix contre César (1999) and Alain Chabat’s Astérix et Obélix Mission Cléopâtre (2002).  What made the latter Astérix film so memorable (and so successful) was that a great deal of thought and effort had gone into the screenplay, making it a film that can be enjoyed by all age groups and one that stands up well to multiple viewings.  By contrast, it looks as if no thought whatever went into the writing of Astérix aux jeux olympiques, so what we get is the lamest of plots that is barely sustained by the most facile attempts at humour. 

It is incredible that a film offering the services of such talented performers as Clovis Cornillac, Gérard Depardieu, Alain Delon  and Benoît Poelvoorde (to name just four) could fail so spectacularly to entertain.  Depardieu looks like he is just going through the motions, Cornillac and Poelvoorde are just plain irritating, whilst Delon shows us just why he never pursued a career in comedy (although, ironically, he gets the one half-decent gag).  The only area in which the film excels is in its special effects, which are eye-poppingly impressive and bring a scale not seen in the previous Astérix films, although this is a very poor substitute for good jokes and narrative content.  Astérix aux jeux olympiques is a lumbering, humourless monstrosity that bears only the most superficial of resemblances to the legendary comicbooks of Goscinny and Uderzo.

© James Travers 2010

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