Lucky Luke

I must admit I had really high hopes for this one, and to be honest this is probably the best live action Lucky Luke movie I've seen, and I've seen em all. There are some funny scenes, and instances where it pays homage to the source material.

Now.

Cast wasn't bad, specially Billy The Kid, he was spot on, acting was well... alright I'll ...accept, costume could not have been better, seriously a solid 9 out of 10 for costumes, the set was very good, Daisy Town looked fantastic,.... so why such a low rating? if the freaking thing just had a damn plot! Its just random scenes, they "look" pretty cool, but doesn't always serve any purpose, the writing is VERY cheap.

Its like something happens, the music hints its something dramatic/beautiful or even a plot twist, and you don't get it, then it cuts to flashback that shows you why its a twist,(this happens at least twice) its like what if in Fight Club SPOILER ALERT! if Ed Norton is told he is Durden, without establishing the character of Pitt, and then in a cheap flashback its explained that he thought Pitt was Durden all this time(Im aware of that, the flashback actually occurs), but as if its the first and only time we see Pitt. END SPOILER .... and you are never sure what its trying to be. A western, spaghetti western, a spoof, Is it a comedy?, well there is a kid who witness the brutal murder of his parents, and is therefore seeking revenge, but our hero never kills anyone, so what in the holy name of God almighty, is he going to do when he finds the killer? it makes no sense, and the revenge theme is absent throughout the movie except maybe 4 minutes, near the end.

The first half of the movie isn't horrible, the second half on the other hand, is cheap, doesn't make much sense, tries to be clever, and is plain boring.

Its really sad, because it could have been a great film, they had the budget and the actors, what a wasted opportunity, if you are a fan you would be very disappointed, if you are not a fan then you are definitely going to be disappointed, because it wouldn't even have any nostalgic value.

On the bright side, the to date latest installment of Lucky Luke on the big screen can brag with great sets, customes and make-up and even some CGI one wouldn't expect from a movie that was shot on a budget of 27 million Euros (approximatly 36 million Dollars).

The obvious downside is what the movie was widely criticized for: the plot. While it has it's troubles following or even developing a story, some character traits are somewhat disregarding the comic original.

Its biggest problem still is that the movie cannot decide whether it wants to approach a western setting via emphasizing action, drama or comedy. It succeeds in neither of these approaches, leaving the audience unsatisfied. This makes it also difficult to tell which would be the appropriate audience. While the comedic reliefs are definitely hitting the sense of humor of eight year olds, the action and drama parts are far more suitable for older viewers. Or would you want your kids to see one of their comic heroes suffer a psychotic breakdown for murdering people?

The quality of acting varies both with the actors as well as in different scenes. Summed up it could be considered as adequate.

The director has some really interesting shots and angles but keeps overusing them to an extend that completely different scenes on different sets give you the feeling it was the very same scene repeated once more. Less would have been more.

If you are a die hard fan of Lucky Luke, french movies or one of the actors, it can be recommended. If you are looking for a western, a family movie or simply quality entertainment, skip this one.

Unlike 99% of the English-speaking population of North America, I have some familiarity with the French "Lucky Luke" comic books. The filmmakers of this cinematic adaptation managed to get some things right. The production values, for one thing, are top-notch. The locations (the film was shot in Argentina) look gorgeous and look like the American west, and the sets are elaborate and eye-catching. Also, the actor chosen to play Lucky Luke was a good choice, looking somewhat like how the character appears in the comics, and has some natural comic talent.

Unfortunately, despite positive points like those, the movie has some serious problems that make me unable to recommend it. For one thing, there is barely a plot here, and things are stretched out to last 105 minutes. There are also some inconsistencies, like how some signs are in English, and others are in French. But what really sinks the movie is its tone. The comics were breezy and amusing, but this movie for the most part plays out in a surprisingly bleak and dark manner. There's no joy or amusement here.

Even if you are curious about how France tries to compete against Hollywood blockbusters, I recommend that you skip this movie and try something better, like "The Crimson Rivers" or even "Don't Die Too Hard".

How to summarize my feelings after having seen this movie? mixed at best... Jean Dujardin is still a great actor and his depiction of Lucky Luke is a true representative of his strengths. The cast is also good and funny. However, the scenario is dubious. The plot is weak, with pieces from various albums being thrown into the mix relatively randomly rather than forming a consistent movie. As a true fan of "Bande Dessinee", it is good to see live version of some of the characters forming the true spine of Lucky Luke but it still feels like some kind of elaborate parody of Lucky Luke rather than a true depiction. Diving into the youth of Luke, with such "tragic" origins feels misplaced too... only the relationship with Belle was a welcome and funny innovation. As a summary: should have been better. Luke, Dujardin, Morris and Goscinny deserve better!

I am an American who never really read any Lucky Luke comics. I watched this movie on the strength of its trailer, and the fact that I am an enormous fan of Goscinny's other creation, Asterix the Gaul.

Die hard Lucky Luke fans seem to dislike this movie as being untrue to the comic books, whereas people unfamiliar with the comics seem to enjoy the movie more.

I definitely fall into the latter category. I found the movie to be, generally, very pleasant, very stylish, and well-acted. From what little I know of Lucky Luke's character, I don't think the movie diverged very far from the spirit of the comics. Lucky Luke was given a back-story in the movie, and a fairly dark one, at that. It worked in the movie, I don't know how much it would have upset me, had I been a real fan of the comics.

The biggest fault I found with the movie was that the script was very weak in parts, and felt VERY rushed. I would have liked more time in the beginning of the film, to establish Daisy Town, and Luke's efforts to clean up the town. More time could have also been spent, establishing the character of the villain, Pat Poker. The movie relied on the viewer having past knowledge of many of the character, but in particular, Pat Poker had a very vague character definition.

The settings were wonderful, and the real stand-out, in my mind, was the climax of the movie, which took place in Pat Poker's hideout, It was an absolutely beautiful set, which, for me, was worth the price of admission.

I'm actually pretty surprised that this movie didn't get released in this country. It was a pretty solid action-comedy with good acting, and great style. I found that these positives made up for occasional weaknesses in the writing.