The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)

An adventure set in the early part of the 20th century and focused on a popular novelist and her dealings with would-be suitors, the cops, monsters, and other distractions.

Director:

Luc Besson

Writers:

Luc Besson (screenplay), Jacques Tardi (comic books)

Stars:

Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louise Bourgoin	...	Adèle Blanc-Sec
Mathieu Amalric	...	Dieuleveult
Gilles Lellouche	...	Inspecteur Albert Caponi
Jean-Paul Rouve	...	Justin de Saint-Hubert
Jacky Nercessian	...	Marie-Joseph Espérandieu
Philippe Nahon	...	Le professeur Ménard
Nicolas Giraud	...	Andrej Zborowski
Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre	...	Agathe Blanc-Sec (as Laure de Clermont)
Gérard Chaillou	...	Président Armand Fallières
Serge Bagdassarian	...	Ferdinand Choupard
Claire Pérot	...	Nini les Gambettes
François Chattot	...	Raymond Pointrenaud
Stanislas de la Tousche	...	Le chauffeur Pointrenaud
Youssef Hajdi	...	Aziz
Mohamed Aroussi	...	Traître égyptien

Storyline

Desperate to cure her near catatonic sister, intrepid authoress Adèle Blanc-Sec braves ancient Egyptian tombs and modern Egyptian lowlife to locate a mummified doctor and get him back to Paris. Her hope is that oddball Professor Espérandieu will then use his unusual powers to bring the doctor back to life so he, in turn, can use his centuries-old skills on the unfortunate sister. In Paris however Espérandieu is already causing mayhem, having brought to life what was a safe museum egg but is now a very active pterodactyl. Paris 1911 may not be the healthiest place to be.

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Plot Keywords:

pterodactyl | tomb | mummy | female explorer | belle epoque | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Mystery

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some violence, language, brief sensuality and rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

France USA

Language:

French English Spanish

Release Date:

14 April 2010 (France)

Also Known As:

Adèle and the Secret of the Mummy

Filming Locations:

Cairo, Egypt

Box Office

Budget:

€25,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$34,522,487

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp, Apipoulaï, TF1 Films Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original french narration. "Pourtant, au même instant, à 953m de la rue de Rivoli, la vie battait son plein." "Pendant ce temps, Ferdinand n'avait parcouru que les 280m qui séparent la Concorde...de la place des Pyramides."

However, the Moulin Rouge is approximately 2 km from Rue de Rivoli, and la Place des Pyramides is nearly 953 m from Place de la Concorde. Maybe, followings are the original texts.

"Pourtant, à exactement 1,857 mètres de la rue de Rivoli, la fête bat son plein. " "Ferdinand Choupard ne lui a permis de couvrir que les 953 mètres séparant la place de la Concorde de la place des Pyramides. "

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Goofs

Near the opening scenes, immediately after the can-can scene, when Mr Ferdinand Choupard arrives in front of the Jeanne D'Arc monument, the speaker says he's in the "place des pyramides" but it appears the place got this name only in 5 January 1932: in 1911, at the time when the story goes, its name was still "place de Rivoli".

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Crazy Credits

In the credits there is a little story about the great wildlife hunter after he shot the prehistoric pterodactyl.

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Alternate Versions

US version was cut by ca. 2 minutes to secure a PG rating. The scene where Adèle takes a bath was edited to remove nudity and smoking. In addition Professor Espérandieu's beheading and Adèle's accident at the tennis game were edited to remove frightening images.

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Connections

References The Fifth Element (1997)

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Soundtracks

J'ai Deux Amours
Music by Vincent Scotto
Lyrics by Georges Koger and Henri Varna
Performed by Josephine Baker

User Reviews

An enjoyable film

Having been lucky to find it was showing at the cinema, I must admit I jumped at the chance to see it being a fan of Luc Besson. I didn't really know what to expect (having only seen trailers for the movie) and I never read the original stories, however I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall the film was very funny and had some very good set pieces, including a very enjoyable scene in Egypt and a scene in a Parisian prison that reminded me of the slapstick nature of the original "Pink Panthers". Louise Bourgoin was very good as the titular heroine and was able to pull off both charm and dead-pan humour effectively throughout the film, making her a pleasure to watch.

However I must admit that at times the plot did wear thin at places and I would be lying if I didn't say that the story itself was very silly. At times it felt as though I was watching a cross between "The Mummy Returns" and "The Crystal Skull" (although this movie is a far superior specimen) while at other times the film reverted to a more serious adventure tone, unable to properly balance the two tones.

All in all I enjoyed the film and would happily see it again. If you are the sort of person who enjoyed "Sahara" and "National Treasure" then this film is for you. On the other hand fans of the more refined explorer films such as "Raiders" might find little to relate to. That being said I do hope for is that the film will be successful enough to merit a sequel, even if the ending does leave it on a rather pointless cliffhanger.