Lucky Luke
Dir: James Huth
2009
****
I have to admit I feared the worst when I got wind of this film as I was an avid reader of Morris' comics as a child. Luckily James Huth knew what he was doing and was obviously a huge fan himself. It's about as good a live-action adaptation of the classic Belgian comic you're going to get in my opinion and it wipes the floor with each Asterix and Tintin film made so far. I'm not even going to talk about what has been done to The Smurfs as I find it all too upsetting. After his brilliant comic performances in OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies and OSS 117: Lost in Rio, Jean Dujardin was the perfect choice in the lead role. Okay, so he's not Belgian but I'm glad the production is French language instead of being Hollywoodised. The costumes and props didn't convince me at first but as soon as I revisited the comics I could clearly see that all involved had done their homework. Most importantly, Lucky Luke was just as cool and funny as the original. A very pleasant surprise.