Agente speciale 117 al servizio della Repubblica - Allerta rossa in Africa nera

Turned out to be much better than expected. I was worried that the change of director would ruin it, and it definitely isn't on the same level as the others, but Nicolas Bedos was very faithful to the first two movies. My expectations about OSS 1001, the new agent, were subverted in a good way. Some very funny moments. If you liked the first two movies, you should definitely give it a watch.

I have to say upfront I am a huge fan of the 2 previous movies directed by Michel Hazanavicius, I was nervous for this one because I hold them in high regards, and director Hazanavicius was not coming back because "he didn't like the script".

I'm pleased to report the movie still succeed to make us laugh and entertain, Jean Dujardin is back in strong form. His comedic timing is always golden and his facial expressions haven't changed. The aesthetic was also a treat, like the 2 previous movies the set design, color palette and exotic locations makes it a beautiful film to look at. Maybe not as good as the other ones but still solid.

I would say that the story/plot is probably the weakest point of the film, it drags a bit with a 2-hour runtime and they try to introduce a new agent played by Pierre Niney that feels a bit forced and didn't really work for me, it was hit & miss (mostly miss) with this character. It feels like they didn't really knew how to end this movie, but it didn't really take away from my enjoyment of it.

This type of comedy can be tricky in today's politically correct day & age, but I thought they stayed true to Hubert and didn't held back. Now that he's going to Africa you can expect him to be maladroit... and he is. It never feels mean however, you can tell he's just an idiot who doesn't know better.

Overall even though it does feel inferior to Rio Ne Répond Plus and Caire Nid d'Espions, it's something I know I'm going to watch again for Jean Dujardin's star performance as Hubert. Bonisseur De La Bath.

Now I could be referring to Bond and OSS117 or I could be referring to the new member of the OSS team (1001). Or maybe both of course. But let's be clear, this movie does not care if you are offended - something that I would like to believe the Bond movie would not agree with. They tried to let the character grow - for better or worse. And whether the viewers liked what they saw or they didn't.

OSS on the other hand - he remains ignorant, sexist and racist. And yet Jean Dujardin fills the role with such an amazing performance and charisma, you kind of feel for the guy. Even when he says the most horrible and cringe worthy things - and believe he says quite a lot of those. You will not find just a few reasons to be offended here.

Apart from immature jokes, there are some political jokes too though. The role of France as colonials, but also Politicians of the 80s and communism ... you may not feel that they did the best job in handling certain themes, but you at least might want to give the movie kudos for even tackling them ... and while it does not reach the heights of the first two movies (it's been 12 years already since Part 2 came out?), it still is more than a solid movie right here. Still haven't watched the older OSS movies ... gotta push them up my watch list.

As always Hubert is very funny.

However if you except Jean Dujardin all the other characters are grotesque.

For the first time the country and the epoque are not really at the center of the story.

Here you are just following the mains characters in their adventure.

In short I would say it was fun to watch but no more...

It's not awful and it can extract 2 or 3 smiles.

But what a difference with the first two installments. The wit is lost. It's often boring and most jokes fall flat.

5 is a generous rating.