Bob et Bobette: Le diamant sombre

I think it's impossible to make a truly good movie, enjoyable for both children and adults, of the suske and wiske-comic books. The stories of this happy duo are just not cut out to be played by real actors of flesh and blood. Characters such as Lambik, Aunt Sidonia or Professor Barabas are funny in the comics, but if real actors play them they are dumb, irritating and slightly childish. This being said, I must add that the movie also has its good points. It does have that same nice atmosphere that marks the comic books and for the fans it's nice to see the universe of S&W come to live. And it has fair special-effects for a Belgian/Dutch product. Okay, it doesn't have the quality of the Harry Potter-movies, but that level simply is unreachable.

I'd recommend this movie to the real hardcore S&W-fans, the rest of the movie lovers shouldn't even try it.

I think they did a nice try at filming an episode of the (in the Dutch language area) famous comic series "Suske en Wiske", but perhaps tried to stay too close to the scenes in the comic itself, which might be hard to film.

On the positive side there is the scenery: they picked real nice locations for the films, giving it a nice atmosphere. Suske and Wiske are played quite decent. Wiske appears a bit older than you would expect from the comic books. As said, they tried to stay very close to the comic itself, which makes a nice story.

A definitive downside is the actor(!) playing Tante Sidionia. Why they casted a man to play this female role may remain a mystery, but a man speaking in falsetto utterly fails in putting anything other than a weak parody on the screen.

Another downside is the quality of the action scenes, which appear clumsy.

It's a nice movie to rent and watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon with the kids.

Yesterday I saw this movie on DVD.

First thing that I've noticed: this story is completely incomprehensible if you did not read the comic-book! The story is told in a very amateurish way, which makes it sometimes difficult to follow. Of course: if you have read the book, you can fill in the missing parts. If you haven't read the book: good luck in trying to understand the story.

Or let's say the details in the story.

This is really a pity since the actors are doing a great job. Especially Stany Crets as Jerommeke is great!

Another complaint: I have never seen such unprofessional rubbish on a DVD as extra. Not much extra on the DVD, only the making of. first 10 minutes are great and you can have a look behind the scenes. But then you as spectator are treated on a movie-clip which I only can describe as some kind of camcorder record: a 3 minutes shot of a door ?? Shots filmed when the camera was supposed to be switched off (so, you see floor and ceiling). This made my DVD experience quite special I must see ;-)

conclusion: the actors did a great job, even the special effects and decors were OK. Unfortunately a bad director and bad cut totally kills this movie experience. If you have the DVD there is an unforgettable "extra" which is so bad, one have to see it to believe it.

I saw this movie at the theater when it was released. I liked it all the way, but I can imagine some might not have liked it at all.

First of all, if you've never read a S&W-comic you may have a hard time getting into the characters. They all have their own little singularities which have grown during the years (remeber this is a comic that has been published for over 60 years now) and may seem a bit awkward to some.

Secondly, the dialogues and especially the humor is typically Flemish, which might be even harder to get into by foreigners.

Thirdly, the costumes are exact copies of the costumes used in the comic. Even though most of the story is set in the middle-ages, a lot of costumes may seem outdated because of the fact that this movie is based on an episode that was released in 1958.

And lastly, this is a kids-movie. If you rent/buy and expect a cool transformation of the story into an epic movie... too bad. This was meant for kids, so you should watch it as a kids-movie.

So, as a fan of the S&W comics I am very pleased with this movie (which is why I gave it a 9). This is exactly how a fan wants the story to be retold as a movie. If you're not a fan, try it. Maybe you'll be bitten by the virus too.

Good day !

I just just finished minutes ago my second or third screening of this picture.

As a french reader, I know the series as Bob et Bobette. I have not read any episodes in many years but still, I could recognize each character easily.

The story is not that fantastic but like someone said,it was probably chosen because easy to put on the screen. As for the characters, I am more than pleased on what I saw on the screen.

Obviously, great care have been put into the casting as the actors are quite similar to the heroes they represent. Impossible to confuse who is who ! Simply amazing ! Their mannerisms, facial expressions, strange habits...etc have not been forgotten. For example, Lambique(Lambik) lighting a candle, to later realize in great pain that it was his own thumb ! Hilarious !

Of course, you need to be a great fan of the series to truly appreciate it for what it was. Random viewers won't get many jokes and essence of several characters.

Thumbs-up to everyone involved in the film !