Astérix & Obélix : Au service de Sa Majesté

The fourth film adaptation of the famous Asterix comic books is the best one so far. Entertaining and even witty at points, instead of boring and crude like the previous films, the movie is based (quite faithfully) on the 1966 album Asterix in Britain (one of the best of the series), with some bits from Asterix and the Normans. Asterix and Obelix help the Britons resist a Roman invasion by Julius Caesar (in the real history, Julius Caesar made a punitive expedition to Britain in 55 BC; Britain would only fall under Roman rule in 43 AD under emperor Claudius). A lot of the comic situations are based (like in the original albums) on national stereotypes, on how the French and the Englishmen see each other. There is also some mildly risqué humor here (with a Briton initially believing Asterix and Obelix to be a gay couple). Edouard Baer is Asterix. Gerard Depardieu is Obelix (he's fine, and by now, it's difficult to think any other actor playing that role).The veteran Catherine Deneuve has a cameo as the queen of the Britons. Fabrice Luchini is Julius Caesar. Production values are acceptable.

I have not much to say but this film is horribly under-rated. It has no dark undercurrent, no social engineering (a rarity these days), it is just light, laugh out loud funny, with good acting, cast, sets and story.

I have not watched something this fun and innocent for a long time. This is far cleaner and leaves you feeling better than any Disney or animated film i can remember.

Also there is none of that horrible Hollywood overtone where everything is over done & there is no subtlety because the audience is assumed to be morons.

People claiming this film promotes homosexuality (an agenda in society i am very aware of and personally protest) have no idea what they're talking about. The English dignitary was just inferring that Asterix and Obelix are homosexual because they live together, as a jibe. Nothing more.

Go watch it, have fun, feel good.

I hope they make another.

This is a very cute adaptation (with updates) of the classic Asterix comics. The version I had only had French audio with subtitles available in English. This wasn't a problem, as one of the running gags of the film is that French actors playing English characters (most notably the impossibly elegant Catherine Deneuve) speak with their French with horrible English accents. The prize for best/worst Frenglish goes to Charlotte Le Bon, who sounds like she's flunking her first semester of French. The jokes are generally cute-but-harmless, notably the 5:00 hot water break that defines life in England at the time of Caesar. There are references to Star Wars and A Clockwork Orange that don't appear in the 1966 source material, and an Indian character who might strike a contemporary audience as uncomfortable. Still, of all the live-action Asterix films, this one seems to best capture the spirit and absurdity of the comics. Very sweet, very fun, and well worth catching on video.

This is not the best of the Asterix series (my favourite is still Asterix & Cleopatra) but it is still quite good and certainly deserves more than an average of 5.3...

Perhaps many viewers failed to see the humour in laughing at themselves.

I thought the film was great fun and so full of funny details that it merits a second viewing to catch all the quick jokes in the background, the signs, etc.

It's certainly much better than the latest Hollywood "comedy" productions that resort to gross depictions of bodily fluids as an inept attempt at humour.

My only reason for not giving this 10 stars is that I don't like the actor portraying Asterix as much as the one who did the first films in the series; I don't find him as entertaining as the original. Still, that didn't stop me from laughing out loud many times through the story.

I was so shocked by the negative reviews of this film on IMDb that I signed up specially to praise it. I'm British, and I absolutely loved all the jokes about my home country, including the music, which is sometimes authentic and sometimes a sort of satire on British patriotic tunes. I don't read strip cartoons, so I don't know how close to the original it is, but it's excellent in its own right. The script is very good - there's all the legionnaires' comments on illegal immigrants (and the satirised illegal immigrant himself is a joy),not to mention Caesar's claptrap about civilising the barbarians. All utterly authentic ... And then there's the dreadful teenager Goudurix, who says everything dreadful British (and I suppose French) teenagers say and do. Does it really matter if he hints Astérix and Obélix might be gay? the film itself makes it clear they aren't, and anyway, gays are good. And there are all the little details, like the 'Godax' - 'Dogax' posters at the rugby match, and the fish and chip shop in Londinium, and the in-jokes about how the British and French see each other. I only gave the film 9 because I personally don't like Depardieu, but he does his job well - oh, and the opening titles are awful and totally unsuited to the film. But in general it's a joy, and it's a real pity most Brits will miss out on it because they wouldn't be able to understand it.