6/10
Passable follow-up plenty of outlandish roles , surrealist situations , haunting mood-pieces and fun scenes
17 March 2015
Again ours two botcher , offbeat secret agents become involved into several troubles when they attempt to recover a powerful invention from professor Bacterio . Funny flick packs hilarious situations , tongue-in-check and sense of style but not totally satisfactory , including conventional pitfalls . Entertaining picture , fundamental for lovers of "Comic" and "Tebeos" and it has one of the highest budgets for digital special effects film in the history of Spanish cinema . A dangerous invention has been stolen to professor "Bacterio" (Janfri Topera) , it is a device that ends in the hands of a crazy megalomaniac named Botijola (Carlos Santos) and his hoodlums , Todoquisque (Alex O'Dogherty) and Matraca (Andrea Gash) , and ready to use it . It is an artifact that creates on planet Earth the biggest drought in its history . The evil group kidnaps professor Bacterio and they are destroying water reserves and subsequently trying to sell a new liquid product called Botijola to enrich themselves . The Head of the organization of counterintelligence T. I. A. (it stands for "Técnicos de Investigación Aeroterráquea", Technicians of Aero-ground Investigation. 'TIA' is Spanish for 'aunt', a joke on the U.N.C.L.E. series) : the Súper (Mariano Venancio) wants to recover the invention but he knows that it should not call Mortadelo and Filemón ; however , he assigns them the mission . These intrepid agents are the known "Mortadelo" (Edu Soto , former Mortadelo ,Benito Pocino , was replaced in the lead role because he wanted a high salary to play him again), and "Filemón" (Pepe Viyuela) . Along the way it appears Rompetechos (Emilio Gavira) and Ofelia ( Berta Ojea) . By means of a time machine our duo goes back the Roman time , there meet Neron (Secun De La Rosa) along with his adviser Seneca and after that , they return to Middle Age , by Inquisition time , where appears Torquemada , and being detained and condemned to burning pole . Later on , the two bungler agents decide to investigate the case for their own means and go to Botijola headquarter .

This amusing film packs thrills , action , comic situations , abstract incidents , at the same time satirizing Spanish society and many other things . This second adaptation to the cinema of the popular characters of Spanish comic of F.Ibáñez got a mediocre box office ; however the first part : ¨La Gran Aventura De Mortadelo Y Filemón¨(2003) by Javier Fesser (who in 2014 shot Mortadelo y Filemón against Jimmy El Cachondo) grossing more than 4,750,000 spectators and almost 22 million Euros . Plot of the film is based on various comic stories by Francisco Ibáñez , taking parts here and there . After more than four decades entertaining through the comics, the most known couple of detectives are brought to life by means of the big screen . It was clear from the beginning the complexity to transfer a comic book to cinema ; however director Miguel Bardem gets an acceptable rendition about our unforgettable memories of childhood and youth . That is the major asset of this film, along with a beloved tribute to other characters of Ibáñez as ¨Ofelia¨ nicely played by Berta Ojea , "Rompetechos" performed by Emilio Gavira and besides , a sympathetic dog , Scooby Doo-alike . Miguel Bardem , without ostentatious means but including alright CGI , gets to mingle some easily recognizable moments about the veterans agents of the "T. I. A. " with others of pure and exclusive comedy along with absurd events . The actors faithfully represent their characters and not to leave out of place the viewer at any time . Exaggerated accidents in a nonsensical world created by the great F. Ibáñez , embarrassing situations , the beating , shaking , falls , highlight sequences as when "Mortadelo" and "Filemón" trying to flee "El Matraca" , "Botijola" scenes , Roman world ... , all of them through some breathtaking special effects . "Mortadelo and Filemon: Mission - Save the Planet" is undoubtedly a faithful as well as nicely representation of the comics of F. Ibañez in the big screen ; being better than expected , in spite of failing at Spanish Box office . Including self-homages : as near the countryside, a billboard says : ¨HollyIbañez" , the great creator of the Mortadelo and Filemón cartoon characters . The picture gets to maintain a certain quality , though he overdoes the same premise , the craziness and bewildering humor carried out by the famous couple created by the great Francisco Ibañez .

Miguel Bardem shows us that surrealist and absurd humor applied to the characters created by the great cartoonist and creator F. Ibáñez . Miguel Bardem has gotten translate the "comics" with all its details and adapt, at the same time, on his own ideas . It's a movie impossible to understand for those outside the comic and veterans readers of the former "Tebeos" in Spain . It packs an atmospheric and thrilling musical score by Juam Bardem (Proximo Oriente , Al Sur Granada , Incautos , Coraje) . Including a spotless pictorial cinematography by Unax Mendia , he photographs almost perfectly the elements of each shot , every sequence, every space . The motion picture was professionally directed by Miguel Bardem who belongs a notorious actors family , as he is son of director Juan Antonio Bardem , aunt is Pilar Bardem ,cousin of Carlos Bardem , Mónica Bardem and Javier Bardem . He has directed some entertaining films as comedy such as ¨Twelfth night¨ or ¨Noche De Reyes¨, ¨Mas Amor Que Frenesi¨ , suspense such as ¨The ugliest girl in the world¨ and ¨Incautos¨ at his best and the latter result to be his most successful pictures . Bardem , nowadays only directs good TV movies such as ¨Prim , Asesinato De Calle Turco¨, ¨Hospital Central¨, ¨Angel or Demonio¨, ¨Asesinato Carrero Blanco¨ and ¨Misterios De Laura .
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