Le magnifique

Bob Sinclar (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a superspy in a ridiculous spy world. He's actually the central character in a book series written by François Merlin (Jean-Paul Belmondo). In his imagination, many people in his real world are incorporated into his spy fantasy.

This film announces itself as a ridiculous spoof right from the start with the giant claw lifting up the phone booth. There is nothing funnier than the translators scene. I like to stay in the spy universe and keep it as ridiculous as possible.

There are some cornball aspects to this film, but it also incredibly inspired in many ways. It is best not to read a bunch of summaries of the plot, just watch it and revel in the imagery which is fantastic in many parts. Belmondo is fantastic as is Jacqueline Bisset. If you already found sixties spy/agent films campy, this film will be a wonderful release, but also a haunting pastiche of dark humor on the whole genre. The jokes are layered very thick, not all of them hit, but compared to the campy schtick done in hollywood, this is shakespearean.

The first half of "Le Magnifique" is postmodern tongue-in-cheek genius, a wild, ludicrous and in every department excellent mixture of James Bond spoof, splatter effects, slapstick, intertextual verve and romantic comedy clearly exceeding the ten stars limit, plus a downright irresistible Jacqueline Bisset (and I'm not even into brunettes). The second half, hmm, doesn't really come as a letdown, but sticks more to conventional vaudeville formulas and simply can't live up to the absurd roller-coaster folly already established, a few bitter tones possibly due to Francis Veber, a prolific and superb, but sometimes uneven writer who also worked on the script. The Canal Plus DVD features the French original as well as the English and German dub. As for comic dramas of the 70s, unorthodox and essential viewing.

This movie is a story about a writer which is maintaining and developing a character, which is a lot in contrary of himself. As a viewer you follow the man when he is writing the book, and you can follow all of his sometimes funny, sometimes exaggerated fantasies by the creation of the story.

It must have been a challenge for the script writer(s) to make this film not too difficult to follow, because it depends on good timing when switching the roles as they are growing during the story.

When you place the movie in its own time, it was one of those real Belmondo's: cleverly written, and full of terrific action, with often surprising acts. A nice movie!

Seriously underappreciated comedy with one of the finest and funniest opening "twists" this filmgoer has ever seen. Belmondo is at his comic and athletic best and Bissett is gorgeous and perfectly cast as a student doing a research paper on pulp-fiction authors (Belmondo). To say much more would spoil the imaginative twists and turns in this film. If you can find it, watch it!

If you like Belmondo in this you might also enjoy "Up to His Ears" (1965)

The CineZonk