Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom

Since I was a child, I have always loved the Astérix and Obelix movies, so I will try to explain my entire review in great detail and with all my love for this film:

When I saw the first trailer for this film (4 months ago) I jumped off the couch with excitement, because it had been like 10 years since the last live-action film. Then, when I finished watching it, I felt a little strange to see that the role of Obélix was not played by the same actor as the previous films (Gerard Depardieu); but on the other hand I really liked the cast, I knew it from other series, films or YouTube videos.

When the second trailer and the premiere trailer came out (a few months ago), I became involved in the adventure of these two characters in the Middle Kingdom, and I was also very surprised by how the Gala Village had changed throughout all these years.

And finally, about 1 week ago I watched the movie for the first time; and it really impressed me a lot and I loved it. It's a pity that it didn't make enough money to be a box office success, but at least it's worth going to see.

PS: This review is spoiler-free, so feel free to read it and imagine what the movie is like.

This really surprised me. Old style silly humour which brits will be very familiar with (like the old black adder,, mobty python stuff). Great production and the time flew by for me. Great actors, funny script and a big adventure story. This was lots of fun and scratched a itch I didn't realise I had - the nostalgic craving for silly humour that isn't disgusting /all about sex.

I loved the friendships between asterix and obelix. The other characters aren't side lines though - proper development and stories of their own. Everything looks beautiful too - in France, in China and in between.

I really this adventure movie with great characters - recommend it.

The original title of the film is Astérix & Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu

Refreshing after a few bad movies, there are some really good puns. I regret that the women are viewed as something to be conquered torough the whole movie, though

❤x6
This one is a little hard to review. On the one hand, most Americans are not going to enjoy this at all. But on the other hand, if you grew up in Europe and read all the Asterix & Obelix comics and watched all the cartoons and movies, you will probably enjoy this.
It is pretty stupid/silly/goofy, but it did hit all the marks of the Asterix & Obelix essence I believe.

How I rate:
1-3 ❤ = seriously! don't waste your time
4-6 ❤ = you may or may not enjoy this
7-8 ❤ = I expect you will like this too
9-10 ❤ = movies and TV shows I really love!

Tl;dr: It's not bad, it's sadly okay.

Philippe Katerine as Assurancetourix is perfect! Cassel as Caesar allows for the most unexpected outcomes to stay within the character. But all in all... It taste like poor copy of the chabat one: same humor, but less punchy, turns of events that feels overly complicated and lengthy, and too many famous people, trying to shine on their own.

And of the middle kingdom we see 2 walls, 2 market places, and one prison on the side of a cliff.

I so wanted this film to be as good as « mission cleopatre » I'm so disappointed

I went into this with no prior Asterix & Obelix knowledge and listened to the english dub.

That said, I don't think this is a very good movie. Some of the art design and sets were really nicely done and genuinely a treat to look at. It seemed well funded and technically well-done for the most part.

But the writing was not good. The plot felt aimless and all over the place, and the jokes usually weren't funny and very frequently relied on lazy ethnic tropes and clichés. As a newcomer to the Asterix franchise, it felt like I was missing a lot of in-jokes and references.

Anyway, I wasn't expecting much from this movie to begin with. It's not the worst movie ever made, but it's not one I would recommend either.

Like a rhinestone fishing pole with no lines: a star studded cast that couldn't catch a break or land a joke.