THE EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF ADELE BLANC-SEC

You know, there was once a time when a new Luc Besson film was an event to me, something I greatly anticipated (the way I do nowadays with David Lynch and the Coen Brothers).  In fact, during the 90’s I would often cite Besson as one of my favourite directors, however since 1999 and  his “Joan Of Arc” film, the quality of his work has diminished dramatically.  The films haven’t been terrible, but they just don’t have the magic and visceral thrills like his classics “Leon” and “La Femme Nikita” did.  That all said, I had a great time with Besson’s latest “The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec”. 

This is Besson trying to do Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with the quirky characters, lots of colour and right down to the Amelie-like narration.  The film is a crazy one that involves Pterodactyls, mummies, big game hunters, and the brilliant character of Adele Blanc-Sec who is kind of like a female Indiana Jones (though this film is much more enjoyable than the recent Indiana Jones film). 

In the film, famous novelist Adele Blanc-Sec, must find and save a brilliant scientist who has worked out how to bring back the dead to life (it is he who mistakenly brings to life the pterodactyl), in an attempt to bring to life an ancient Egyptian doctor (long since dead, hence, the mummies) who hopefully will have the medical expertise to bring Adele’s sister out of her four-year long coma. 

Like I said, this is a crazy film, and if you think that this sounds weird, what until you hear the story of how Adele’s sister fell into a coma, it’s insane.  I should also mention that the film is set in 1911, which adds nicely to the atmosphere.  The look of the film, as usual for a Besson film, is gorgeous.  It’s great to see that Besson is still using his usual collaborators, Eric Serra (music) and Thierry Arbogast (cinematographer), although I do miss Jean Reno. 

The film is flawed though, as it has some lame comedy throughout (courtesy of the big-game hunter and police inspector), and the tone of the film is a bit inconsistent.  Overall, though, I had a great time with this film, and if you were left a little cold by the latest Indiana Jones film, this is definitely worth catching.  As this film is based on a comic book series, I hope that Luc Besson (or another director) continues to keep the Adele Blanc-Sec film series alive, I look forward to more of this fun character.

Ranked 22 in Top 25 of 2010