The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec
Dir: Luc Besson
2010
****
I absolutely love Jacques Tardi and his series The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec and when I heard that the great Luc Besson was set to make a live action feature adaptation I had a little nerdgasm. To my relief, Besson's The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec is a great adventure film, not a 100% adaptation but thankfully not an over the top Hollywood production. I was also glad to see that it was more for adults than children, as it should be (although I loved it as a child). It was about bloody time Luc Besson made another live action film and I really hope that this is the first of many adventure films based on the fantastic character, Adele Blanc-Sec - played wonderfully by the very beautiful Louise Bourgoin. It's a bit like Indiana Jones meets The Mummy but directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (and much better than The Mummy). I can see a bit of Besson's usual style here but I wouldn't say it was obvious that it's one of his films, indeed, this is a Tardi production. It's great to see a graphic artist's work respected and it's great that Besson is back in the game and long may they both continue - although I'm baffled as to why this film has been so overlooked!? Definitely worth checking out, I really was pleasantly surprised by it and entertained (thrilled) throughout.