Mortadel et Filemon

This movie has surprisingly good visual effects for a low budget Spanish movie, compared to Hollywood productions, but it is a very boring movie. It is a good adaptation from the comic book as most of the elements of the "tebeo" actually are well depicted in the movie, but the characters are lifeless and somehow you do not get attached to them. I just sat back and watched how those readings that I used to like in school came to life visually but I hardly laughed at the jokes and gags, they were too childish and repetitive. Another misconception was that characters, specially Mortadelo, should talk rapidly and with an unvaried tone (actually, acting was kind of poor). During the film, I didn't even understand what they were saying and I guess I should wait to see it in tv to get most of their lines. I prefer P.Tinto, Fesser's first movie, it has the same good visual effects, but, at least, there is some heart in the characters and you get a little more interested in the plot.

"La Gran aventura de Mortadelo y Filemón" or "Clever & Smart", which the comic and movie are called in Austria and Germany had a major flaw for me. The German dubbed version sucked. Unfortunately, Erkan & Stefan, two horrible German "comedians" were allowed to do the voices for Mortadelo and Filemón and they didn't get the humour right at all. Since the DVD didn't include an accurate translation in the subtitles, either, I could not experience this movie the way it was supposed to be.

Of course, this is hardly the fault of the original filmmakers. Visually this movie is stunning and hilarious. The most amazing thing is that the characters really resemble the ones in the comic books, which I wouldn't have thought was possible. The special effects are top notch and help to create that same anarchic atmosphere from Ibanez' work (I loved how they even let weird things happen in the background, just like in the comic books). As a longtime fan I do have a few complaints (The whole thing is a bit too violent at times and the language is unnecessarily rude - if that wasn't just another mistake in translation. The landscapes and locations didn't really look the way they did in the comic books. Also, isn't Filemón supposed to be mostly bald? Isn't he kind of the boss in Filemón and Mortadelo's partnership and isn't he a bit grumpier than in the movie?).

However, most of all I'm really pleasantly surprised about how well the makers translated Ibanez' world into a movie. It's all the more surprising since Mortadelo y Filemón comic books were never really about gripping story lines, so the premise wasn't the most promising one. In fact, the movie does drag on quite a bit, but I blame the German dubbing for that. I'm sure it's a lot funnier in the original version. It's really a pity the people responsible for the dubbing couldn't get the translation right. This way the movie is never going to make it big in German speaking countries and I'm never going to find out how good it really is.

Just remembering of my childhood when in front at Theatre a lot of children and teenagers used to be trading comics books, Mortadelo Y Filemon was quite famous at 1975, and had a Brazilian's version, now surprise me entirely this funniest Spanish characters to be adapted to screen, their humor is rough and surreal, although it probably won't satisfy everyone, how l did read several comic books in the past, I know what to expect and I really enjoy it, this picture has ups and downs, has many smart gags, others not quite, another point to concern is about an Spanish culture, we must recognized that every country has their peculiar taste, I've been respect it, the fabulous world of the Francisco Ybanes, a true genius!!

Resume:

First watch: 2013 / How many: 2 / Source: DVD / Rating: 6.5

The adaptation of Francisco Ibañez's comics is, no doubts, impeccable. Perhaps some people won't like it as much as I did, but I had great fun with this film, since there is a very funny gags mixture, where there is something outlandish and nonsensical every 30 seconds, typical of Fesser's movies. I also have to say that things that look normal in the comics, may seem nonsense in the film, that's another component that I liked. As I said before, there might be people who don't like it because it has the humor of "Torrente", but the film is exceptional, especially because of the visual effects. It is important to point out that the DVD is for sale already, where there are 2 discs with the movie and tons of extra content, so if you liked it you shouldn't miss it.

This film depicts the exploits of two comic characters highly popular in Spain, Mortadelo and Filemon. They are secret agents able to ruin the most simple mission.

This movie was too childish to me. Though the visual jokes are occasionally amusing, several of them are repeated too frequently. Did the writer run out of ideas after 5 minutes? Expect just the most basic humor.

The special effects effort is commendable. However, you cannot rely in that only. A good movie require other elements such as a script.

Here in Spain it has been heavily publicized, what can explain an initial success but I'm afraid that many will be disappointed.

Anyway, if you liked "El milagro de P. Tinto" you might like this.