This was a terribly funny and enjoyable film--so much so that I look forward to seeing the next movie in this series. Jean Dujardin stars as OSS agent 117--an incredibly cocky yet stupid hero. In many ways, he's like combining James Bond and Indiana Jones with Inspector Clousseau. That's because although his character is an idiot, he's also incredibly physical and a bit macho---and amazingly cocky about it. The combination works well--with a character you like but is still rather unique.
The film starts towards the end of WWII. This portion is highly reminiscent of Indiana Jones or an old movie serial--it's action and a cocky appeal. After defeating the Hun, Agent 117 return home--a hero. Now, in the next scene, a decade has passed and he's being sent to Cairo on his next case. Once there, he walks about like he just KNOWS all the women adore him--and again and again he makes a total nuisance of himself. Yet, because he IS still a macho guy, he's able to defeat the baddies and conquer the ladies despite his severely stunted intellect. I loved how the film focused on how incredibly insensitive his character was when it came to Islam--and the scene involving the morning call to prayer is priceless. Despite a nice idea and many clever moments, the film is occasionally a bit slow or loses pace. But, this is not a serious problem and the end result is a different sort of film hero--one you really want to see again.
By the way, look for the scene where 117 is tossed into the water to die. While this scene was poorly done in some ways (skeletons do NOT look like that--the bones do NOT remain articulated once the flesh is gone), I loved how incredibly cocky he was--as after he escaped, he very slowly and very casually made his way to the surface. Clever.
The film starts towards the end of WWII. This portion is highly reminiscent of Indiana Jones or an old movie serial--it's action and a cocky appeal. After defeating the Hun, Agent 117 return home--a hero. Now, in the next scene, a decade has passed and he's being sent to Cairo on his next case. Once there, he walks about like he just KNOWS all the women adore him--and again and again he makes a total nuisance of himself. Yet, because he IS still a macho guy, he's able to defeat the baddies and conquer the ladies despite his severely stunted intellect. I loved how the film focused on how incredibly insensitive his character was when it came to Islam--and the scene involving the morning call to prayer is priceless. Despite a nice idea and many clever moments, the film is occasionally a bit slow or loses pace. But, this is not a serious problem and the end result is a different sort of film hero--one you really want to see again.
By the way, look for the scene where 117 is tossed into the water to die. While this scene was poorly done in some ways (skeletons do NOT look like that--the bones do NOT remain articulated once the flesh is gone), I loved how incredibly cocky he was--as after he escaped, he very slowly and very casually made his way to the surface. Clever.