“Asterix and Obelix. The Middle Empire”: A gallery of irrepressible Gauls in China

The opinion of the “world” – why not

Twenty-four years have already passed That our irrepressible Gallic countryside, imagined by the Uderzo-Goskin duo, regularly comes to fill the pot of French cinema with gold. The success did not disappear, which is evident from the first adaptation of Claude Zid in 1999 (Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar). Various opuses followed, under the direction of Alain Chabat (Asterix and Obelix. Mission Cleopatra, 2002), Frederic Forestier and Thomas Langman (Asterix at the Olympics2008), Laurent Tiard (Asterix and Obelix. for his majesty2012), stayed the course and made enough millions to repeat the adventure every time.

Guillaume Canet, the last to fight it out, wakes up unconscious to dare to take up the gauntlet and withstand the pressure. However, there is a budget of 65 million euros to support it and it is already a well-defined area. Included in the program: repeated gags, anachronisms (a trolley in the shape of a Citroën 2 CV, a carrier pigeon that emits an SMS sound), car parody, special effects, hundreds of extras, a large number of famous people (singer Angel, soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, etc.) Listed in generic. In this regard, the director and his screenwriters, Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé (former authors of Guignols de l’info). on Canal+ and co-authors Key 2 and 3), did not fail. They poured it into the mold, using all the ingredients from which their predecessors took the recipe.

The first film in the series not to be adapted from the album, Asterix and Obelix. middle empire He gives himself liberties, which somewhat expands his field of action. Starting with the choice of a playground that is still unexplored and strategic from a commercial point of view: China. The cradle of the story, this new empire brings a change of scenery, an epic breath in the story and new characters. Namely, Princess Fu Yi (Julie Chen), her loyal warrior Tat Han (Leanna Chea) and her protector, the Venetian merchant Grindemais (Jonathan Cohen), who one day arrive in a Gallic village to ask for help.

French schoolboy spirit

It is about the release of the emperor, who was sent to prison by the coup d’état. Asterix and Obelix were just waiting for this to explore the country and fight. They start their journey. They are followed by Cesar (Vincent Cassel), who intends to seize the opportunity to conquer China. A victory might help him win back the heart of Cleopatra (Marion Cotillard), with whom nothing is going his way.