Asterix and Obelix – The Middle Kingdom (English) Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating
ASTERIX & OBELIX - THE MIDDLE KINGDOM is the story of a group of Gauls heading to China. Asterix (Guillaume Canet) and Obelix (Gilles Lellouche) are happily residing in their village when one day, a trader returns to their village with Princess Sa See (Julie Chen) and her bodyguard (Leanna Chea). Sa See’s mother, the Empress of China (Linh-Dan Pham) has been imprisoned in an act of treachery and the princess asks for help. Asterix and Obelix head to China to save the Queen. On the other hand, Julius Caesar (Vincent Cassel), to win Cleopatra’s (Marion Cotillard) and also after learning that he’s not that known in China, decides to head to the Middle Kingdom and make it a part of his Empire. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé's story is decent and interestingly, is not based on a comic book of Asterix. Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé's screenplay is fine in places but overall, it's unimaginative. Philippe Mechelen and Julien Hervé's dialogues are witty. The use of modern-day terms like friendzone, viral, antivirus etc gives a nice touch.
Guillaume Canet's direction is underwhelming. He has handled some scenes well like Cleopatra laughing hysterically at Caesar, the Princess arriving at the village for the first time, Caesar's army singing a tweaked version of 'We Will Rock You', the pigeon arriving with a vibrating message etc. But overall, the director is let down by the script. Asterix stories usually are full of humour and that's missing here. Also, the fan base of Asterix is limited and this can affect the box office prospects.
Speaking of performances, Guillaume Canet is satisfactory while Gilles Lellouche is funny. Julie Chen and Leanna Chea are apt for their respective parts. Vincent Cassel delivers a worthy performance. Marion Cotillard is good and one wishes she had more to do in the film. José Garcia (Biopix) plays an interesting character well. Bun Hay Mean (Deng Tsin Qin) is lovely in a cameo. Zlatan Ibrahimović (Antivirus) is okay.
Matthieu Chedid's music is appropriate. André Chemetoff's cinematography is splendid. Aline Bonetto and Mathieu Junot's production design is rich and helps the film look grand. The same goes for VFX. Madeline Fontaine's costumes are appealing. The action is kid-friendly. Editing is okay.
On the whole, ASTERIX & OBELIX - THE MIDDLE KINGDOM rests on some funny moments but suffers due to a weak script. At the box office, it'll only appeal to the niche fan base of Asterix comics.