Astérix et Obélix: Au service de Sa Majesté (2012)
Directed by Laurent Tirard

Film Review

Four years after their disastrous showing in the effects-drenched fiasco that was Astérix aux jeux olympiques, Astérix and Obélix are back, and judging by the reaction so far, their latest big screen adventure looks set to make a decisive conquest at the French box office in 2012.  Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa majesté (a.k.a. Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia), the fourth entry in the most popular franchise in French cinema, boasts a cast of jaw-dropping proportions.  Its director Laurent Tirard has already notched up one box office smash, Le Petit Nicolas (2009), and received acclaim for his lavish biopic Molière (2007).  Gérard Depardieu returns for his fourth outing as the rotund but loveable Obélix (would you think he was 63?), this time partnered by the equally charismatic Edouard Baer, who turns in the best Astérix so far - a luckless womaniser suffering from a severe case of existential angst.  Aided by a certain magic potion, Gaul's dynamic duo appear to be as active today as they were when they first began their adventures in comic book form, 53 years ago.  It will be many years yet before Astérix and his chum start to draw their pensions.

This latest Astérix extravaganza may not quite live up to the excellence of Alain Chabat's Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopatre (2002), which remains by far the best entry in the series, but it has plenty going for it, not least of which is its stellar cast.  Who better than the supremely regal Catherine Deneuve to play the Queen of the Britons?  Could anyone play a megalomaniac Roman emperor with more petulant relish than Fabrice Luchini (even if his portrayal is more Nero than Julius Caesar)?   Valérie Lemercier no less hilarious as the prissy English home help who somehow manages to enflame Obélix's passions, and Guillaume Gallienne exudes so much charm as a special agent that you'd think he was putting himself up as the next James Bond.  Even more impressive is Vincent Lacoste, the perfect choice for the part of Astérix's pain-in-the-neck apprentice, closely modelled on today's obstreperous teenager-from-Hell.  Veteran actor Jean Rochefort makes a very welcome appearance as a fastidious Roman senator and Dany Boon turns up to revive the flagging second half of the film as an ill-mannered Norman barbarian who is forced to re-enact a scene from Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange.  In contrast to the previous Astérix film, which scattered big name actors all over the place without any real logic, it looks as if someone has thought long and hard over the casting for this latest offering, and the effort has certainly paid off.  On the acting front at least, the film is beyond reproach.

One of the advantages of having such an impressive cast line up is that it distracts the audience from the shortcomings in other departments.  By far the weakest element of Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa majesté is its plot, a messy concoction that just seems to ramble all over the place, sustained only by a constant stream of gags (some good, some cringe-worthy) and the unflagging enthusiasm of the cast.   Not content with adapting one original Goscinny-Uderzo comic book, Astérix chez les Bretons, the screenwriters felt obliged to include story ideas from another, Astérix et les Normands, with the result that the film feels overlong and overloaded with plot.  In their desire to remain as faithful to the original comic books as possible, the writers end up stifling their creativity.  What made Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopatre such a success was that it wasn't afraid to extend Goscinny and Uderzo's original concept and make it more relevant to a modern cinema audience.  Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa majesté is so self-consciously targeted at dedicated Astérix fans and a traditional family audience that it lacks the zany, inspired touch that made Chabat's Astérix film so fresh and enjoyable. 

As in the last Astérix film, Au service de sa majesté also suffers from a surfeit of showy special effects, which often degrade the humour and undermine the film's real charm, which lies entirely in the performances.  The 3D effects look suspiciously like an afterthought, added purely for commercial reasons - they contribute absolutely nothing to the film and are an unwelcome distraction.  Not for the first time, it looks as if the shallow dictates of commericial cinema have been allowed to ride slipshod over artistic integrity and botched what might otherwise have been a very respectable film.

Astérix et Obélix: Au service de sa majesté may not be an unqualified success but it is easily one of the stronger entries in the Astérix series, its main asset being the highly entertaining double act formed by Depardieu and Baer.  In none of the preceding films have Astérix and Obélix been portrayed as sympathetically to Goscinny and Uderzo's creations, and it is to the film's credit that the screenwriters have made the effort to develop the characters and their relationship instead of leaving them as two-dimensional action heroes.  Obélix has acquired a romantic side and Astérix is starting to question what his life is about - they look like a very modern couple indeed.  It's a pity that the film's makers (and producers) weren't brave enough to go a little further in this vein.  There are a few far from subtle references to many contemporary themes (homelessness, immigration,  single-sex adoption, etc.), but for the most part the writers are concerned with hammering out the gags.

The lack of daring and ambition is more noticeable on the casting side - how much better it would have been if the ancient Briton characters had been played by prominent British actors, rather than French actors putting on overly exaggerated English accents.  With a little more imagination and courage, Au service de sa majesté could have been something special.  Instead, it's a pretty insipid affair, only just redeemed by some impressive design work and a bumper helping of histrionic excess from a first rate cast who are determined to give us a good time.  Given the enduring popularity of Astérix and Obélix in France, their latest film can hardly fail to be one of the biggest hits at the French box office this year.

Film Synopsis

In 50 BC, Julius Cesar leads his armies in an attack on that mysterious little island lying at the limits of the known world, Britain.  It is a swift and comprehensive victory, well almost.  One small village manages to hold out against the invader, but it is only a matter of time before they give way to the Romans.  Cordelia, the Queen of the Britons, sends her faithful defender Jolitorax to seek help from Gaul, from a little village that is famous for resisting the Romans, the village of Astérix and Obélix...