Review for The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec

Introduction

North Africa around the start of the 20th Century, an intrepid adventurer trying to elicit the secrets of some ancient ruins, with the aid of a native guide named Aziz, all leading to a fantastic, colourful adventure. The last time a Luc Besson film started like this, it was The Fifth Element, one of my favourite fun sci-fi movies. Now he's done it again, only this time it's The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, based on the French comic books of the same name, created by Jacques Tardi. I've been a fan of bandes dessinees from a very young age, losing myself in the Adventures of Tintin, Asterix and Lucky Luke, although this is my first encounter with The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. The thing is that I've never been all that impressed with the attempt to bring these comics to life on the big screen, whether in live action or animation. There's something about the short, weekly strip format that doesn't work well over 90 or so minutes. Barbarella is the only exception that I can think of. Maybe The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec will be the next exception. I hope so, as this is apparently the first of a trilogy of films from Luc Besson.


Adèle Blanc-Sec is a reporter, a feisty intrepid writer who takes no nonsense from anyone, and follows her will and instinct no matter what danger it may lead her into. It's why, when her publisher has sent her to Peru, that she winds up in Egypt, exploring ancient Egyptian tombs, looking for the final resting place of Rameses the Second, or more importantly, his personal physician. For Adèle's sister needs the sort of medical attention that modern medicine is no longer capable of. The fact that her potential saviour has been mummified for 5000 years is no obstacle, as in Professor Espérandieu she has found someone who has spent his whole life researching the mechanism of life and death, and has found a way of reversing the latter. The trouble is that Professor Espérandieu has been too eager to practice his skills. A 135 million year old egg has just hatched in a Paris Museum, and a pterodactyl now terrorises the 1911 city skyline.

Picture

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec gets a 1080p widescreen transfer at the theatrical 2.35:1 ratio. The image is lush and vibrant, bringing out the best in the period detail. I did think that dark detail was a little subdued though, certainly pitch black clothing lacked definition, but this is by and large a film that takes place in bright, colourful locations and sets, and with locations like the Pyramids of Egypt, the Louvre, and other notable Paris landmarks, you get full value with the high definition imagery. As always for a film of this nature, where it stands or falls in usually down to the special effects, in this case CGI. Most of the CG effects in this film are top quality, but as always it's where live action and CGI collide that the seams begin to split. One of the narrative high points of the film is when the pterodactyl gets a human rider. Unfortunately, the final product doesn't have the desired impact. That said, the mummies are very effective, and there are no issues with the way they interact with live action elements.

Sound

You have the choice between DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround French, or LPCM 2.0 Stereo French. I opted for the surround track, and found a lively and immersive audio experience, bringing across the film's action without any flaw. The dialogue is clear throughout, while the music is quirky and appropriate to the film. The one nitpick that I have is with the subtitles, which look as if they are player generated, but can't be turned off at all, so they may as well be burnt in.

Extras

Insert the disc and it autoplays with trailers for Source Code and Attack the Block, as well as a couple of confectionary adverts. Excuse me, but if I want to be sold groceries with my entertainment, I'll watch the bloody thing on broadcast TV!

The animated menus are pretty enough, although the difference between the shade of the highlighted text option and the other menu options is too narrow. It makes picking a menu item almost like guesswork.

On the disc you'll find the Making Of, which lasts 26 minutes, and is the usual mix of interviews, behind the scenes glimpses, and clips from the film. Interesting are the interviews with the creator of the comic Jacques Tardi, the creation of period Paris, and some hints of deleted scenes that add to Adèle's relationship with her sister. Unfortunately, said scenes aren't available separately on this disc.


There are also a handful of separate interviews on this disc, which repeat a little of what is said in the Making Of, but also add a whole lot more. There are interviews about the film with Luc Besson, Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Jean-Paul Rouve, Jacky Nercessian, and Gilles Lellouche. There is also a separate Cinemoi Interview with Luc Besson conducted by Jason Solomons. This latter is in English, while the others are in French with English subtitles. The total running time for the interviews is two hours and five minutes. It's understandable then that the extras listed for the DVD of this film only include the Making of, the two interviews with Luc Besson and the one with Louise Bourgoin.

The In The Studio featurette lasts 5 minutes, and after showing as a little of Louise Bourgoin recording the film's theme song, shows us a music video for one of the other songs used in the film's end credits.

Finally there is the English language trailer for the film. Note that all of the extras other than the trailer are presented in 576i SD resolution.

Conclusion

Adèle Blanc-Sec is being marketed somewhere between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, with the It Grrrl sensibilities of the latter and the period action of the former. That's a little inaccurate, as The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is much more a comedy than an action movie, and spends as much time setting up wry character moments and gags, as the other franchises would spend on their stunts. That's not a bad thing, as The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is a whole lot of fun, delightful entertainment from beginning to end, with a very agreeable central character, feisty, no-nonsense, a little sarcastic, and with no end of dry wit. It's less physical action than it is verbal action, and the result is one of those delightful French comedies, given a big budget, CGI action movie spin.


Adèle Blanc-Sec is a character that isn't fazed by whatever happens to her, each new problem is just another tiresome impediment to overcome, and since she isn't ever afflicted by a sense of peril, the action elements to the film never really have the necessary impact that you would expect in a film like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft.


But as a comedy, this film is a delight from beginning to end, with a cast of colourful characters, humour ranging from the depth of the toilet to highbrow wordplay, and an ironic worldview that really has a surprising appeal. It's a fast paced and energetic story, with a multi-threaded plot that understandably requires the presence of a narrator to kick the whole thing off.


The downside of it is that The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec really is a comic book movie in the truest sense of the word. It often feels as if strips are being brought to life straight onto the screen, with the short scene format almost akin to the four panel strips that would have been originally published weekly. It also means that of the characters, only Adèle Blanc-Sec really gets developed beyond the basic outline. She is the most human character in the movie, the one that we as an audience empathise with, but the rest of the characters, colourful and vivid though they may be, lack in dimension and depth.


The police inspector put onto the pterodactyl case, Albert Caponi never develops beyond the incompetent buffoon more interested in his palate, although his byplay with the big game hunter Justin de Saint-Hubert is entertaining. Similarly scientist and Adèle fan Andrej Zborowski looks to be set up as a potential love interest, but his sole defining feature is his inability to pronounce his own surname. Most wasted of all is the apparent arch villain of the piece, Dieuleveult, as slimy and creepy a character as any Indiana Jones Nazi, but other than a couple of very memorable appearances, he really doesn't play a part in the film's story.


Were this film a standalone, I would be a little disappointed with this. However, given the film's tantalising open ending, and the Wikipedia assertion that this is the first in a trilogy, then The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec is not only a solid piece of entertainment, but it also sets up what could be a very promising series of films. If you are looking for something a little different, then this action adventure comedy with a Gallic flavour is very much recommended.