A Volta de Fantomas

Actually they are back. It is not just Fantomas but also Luis De Funes. Who at the beginning of this prematurely celebrates that they haven't heard from Fantomas in a while. Which must mean he is defeated ... doesn't it? Actually more like Mission Impossible, no? And no pun intended of course.

Fantomas is the one who is able to be everyone. With a neat trick when editing, that may not work as smooth as it did back then, he changes form and shape at times ... but hey: suspension of disbelief and all that. He may strike back, but the original remains the better movie. Even if the sequels did a good job too - sorry for the pun and something that cannot be said about the police work here ...

This episode is definitely the more entertaining of the series starring de Funès and Jean Marais. After the rather flat Fantômas (1964) and before a weird #3 where the evil genius becomes a base racketeer who occasionally kills a Lord in a Scottish manor, Fantômas se déchaîne is well packed with action and fun.

OK the directing is pretty lame and you'd better discovering this movie as a child since an over-the-top De Funès with all the James Bond toolkit spoofing can't make up for all the lack of rhythm. On the whole De Funès and Jean Marais are perfect to make the whole thing work throughout that good model of what was and is lacklustre yet popular French cinema.

This one is actually superior to the first installment in the series (see above): the plot revolves around a couple of scientists who have each been working on a brain-washing device(!) and who had been hoping to unite their forces in order to perfect it - which places it, more or less, into the realm of science fiction; needless to say, Fantomas sees this as a good way to bring about world-domination (with him as its ruler) and promptly kidnaps them!

The heroic reporter couple and the comic police duo are back on the criminal's trail; however, this time around it's not only Fantomas who takes up various disguises to carry out his nefarious schemes (though the mask worn by the actor is too obvious and won't fool any audience member!) but also the other Jean Marais and De Funes/Juve!; another novelty is the more personal nature of the relationship between the Mylene Demongeot character and Marais/Fantomas: at one point, she's herself kidnapped and one almost expects their relationship to be developed into something approximating to a parallel romance, but it's never taken that far and we're soon back to more familiar (and less challenging) ground!

The finale takes place in Fantomas' volcanic hide-out; interestingly, footage from Haroun Tazieff's LES RENDEZ-VOUS DU DIABLE (1958) - a documentary about volcanic eruptions - was interspersed into the actual film for authenticity's sake...before it reverts to fancy, with the master criminal's racing-car converted instantaneously into a jet and taking flight!!

Fantômas Se Déchaine (or Fantômas Unleashed for the English title) is of the same quality as the first movie from one year earlier. For 1965 you can't expect big special effects, but for that year it was certainly good enough. It reminds me of the time I watched Louis de Funès movies with my grandparents what was always a pleasant and funny time of cinema. Louis de Funès will always stay the best French comedian, and that's mostly due to his hyperactive temper and his great mimicking. The Fantômas trilogy is maybe not his funniest movies but they were entertaining, certainly for that time. Watching this so many years later I still enjoy it, even though it's obvious that we're used to watch better things nowadays.

This film came out the same year as the Bond flick 'Thunder-ball,' and can be considered French cinema's answer to the Anglophile 007 craze sweeping Europe and the world back then. The kidnapped scientist plot shows up in many Bond films, of course. But the best gimmick in any Fantomas film is Fantomas' ability to assume other people's identity at will by using high quality rubber face masks. And his own, featureless eerie green rubber mask is rather scary still.

This is a wonderful movie. Very funny, intelligent, and a sophisticated humor. The scene of Inspector Juve with the three arms is just hilarious. Both the series of "The Pink Panther" (Peter Sellers) or Austin Powers probably were inspired by this wonderful movie and the other Fantomas movies in the 3-movie series. It is a must see.