Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec

Lovers of tranquil, gentlemanly France or the leisurely travelogue of Jules Verne are likely to grumble nervously under their moustaches, but I, Miss Blanc-Sec, took a liking to it from the moment she waved goodbye to her publisher and set off to disturb the dead in Egypt. Playfully, childishly, and inconsistently. But with such audacity and freshness that one cannot resist. 70% for this simplified Jones-esque adventure bringing a nostalgic smile. (27/10/2011)

The individual ingredients are quite tasty - for example, Louise Bourgoin, who is not only attractive but also a solid actress. Fortunately, it does not take itself seriously, so it is lightened with reasonable jokes and oneliners. There are a few decent scenes in it, but the screenplay is an incredible mishmash into which Besson stuffed a living pterodactyl, an army of revived mummies, secret services, the Titanic - basically anything you can think of, and together it is such a mess that it insults one's intellect. However, if you approach it as mindless B-movie entertainment without any higher goals, it can still be amusing in its own way. I didn't understand at all what Luc Besson intended, because I can accuse him of all imaginable sins, but he is usually a cunning businessman who knows what he's doing, and here I had the feeling for the first time that he had gone mad. However, I had the opportunity to later read the comic book "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec," which served as the basis for the film, and now I understand. The French comic is an incredibly entertaining affair. It's simply a smart and funny homage to pulp, where what doesn't make sense in the film has order and style in literary form. My view of the film hasn't changed, as it should stand on its own, not just in relation to knowledge of the source material, and it failed to do so. Overall impression: 25%. (10/10/2015)

When you see this in the context of Besson's greatest creative lull, it strikes you as the best film in the world, even though it, like the Arthur trilogy, was made primarily to promote Besson's CGI production division Digital Factory. Fortunately, though, here he's returned to his conception of a world in which all the people are drunken children and the only ones who are remotely capable of any results are the active women, who as we know grow up earlier than the boys. And Bourgoin is wonderful as Adèle. This mad woman brings no shame to the other Adeles (Dinner for Adele, Blue Is the Warmest Color, Adelheid). (12/10/2021)

I’m not sure if Luc Besson was trying to feed off the success of Sommers' The Mummy, but it was a massive flop. This is exactly the reason why I’m not a fan of French cinema. Luc Besson was so desperate to be funny it was sad to watch. The story was totally nonsensical, the "humorous" situations were borderline retarded, and the only actually funny thing was the tennis scene. Otherwise, it was plain pathetic. (28/08/2017)

Luc Besson... No, actually, I don't know what happened to that guy. He used to make great movies. "Leon," "The Fifth Element," "The Big Blue," but lately something broke in him and he started making fantastical films that don't have much potential, even though it may seem different at first glance. "Arthur and the Invisibles" were somewhat okay, but the next two parts were worse than the previous ones. The ratings were around 20%, maybe even lower. "The Secret of the Mummy" is not such a disaster, but I'm definitely not saying it's a great film. The truly terrible thing about it are the visual effects. They are simply in a weaker category, which can often be better replaced by puppets and other classic technology. In this case, it wouldn't be so simple because this film simply needs special effects. However, the story is also so Europeanly insane. Maybe it looks good on the pages of a comic book, but it's not such a miracle when it comes to the film. A little bit of an attempt at "Amelie," a little bit of "The Mummy," but in the end, it's just absurd fantasy that dares to go beyond the limits of a children's film. No, this really isn't for kids. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/04/bruce-clint-simon-david-zbouchnuta-v.html (17/02/2013)