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Asteriks ve Oburiks Gizli Görevde

Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia (Astérix et Obélix : Au service de Sa Majesté)

Movie · 2012 · 15 people

Asterix and Obelix: God Save Britannia is a French, Spanish and Italian fantasy comedy from director Laurent Tirard. It is the fourth live-action screen version of the Asterix comics created by René Goscinny and follows the 2008 Olympic Games outing. Running 111 minutes, it is also the first entry shot in 3D. It had its world premiere at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema and drew largely negative reviews.

The script combines two albums, Asterix in Britain (1965) and Asterix and the Normans (1966). Around 50 BC, Caesar's legions swiftly take Britain, yet one tiny village will not give in. Queen Cordelia sends her trusted aide Jolitorax across the sea to seek help from the famous Gaulish village. The villagers give him a barrel of magic potion and send Asterix and Obelix along, and the chief's nephew tags behind to complete his training. Nothing about the voyage turns out as anyone expected.

Gérard Depardieu plays Obelix for the fourth and last time, while Édouard Baer takes over as Asterix. Catherine Deneuve, Valérie Lemercier, Fabrice Luchini, Dany Boon and Jean Rochefort fill out the cast. Tirard wrote the screenplay with Grégoire Vigneron, and Fidélité Films produced. The film reached French cinemas on 17 October 2012 and Turkish ones on 26 October 2012.

DirectorLaurent Tirard
Production companyFidélité Films

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Cast

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Catherine Deneuve Catherine Deneuve Film actor · 83 years old Valérie Lemercier Valérie Lemercier Actor · 62 years old Gérard Depardieu Fabrice Luchini Luca Zingaretti Gérard Jugnot Dany Boon Jean Rochefort Filippo Timi Neri Marcorè Niccolò Senni Alban Casterman Atmen Kelif BB Brunes Bouli Lanners

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Through different eyes

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

This Asterix and Obelix film is a colourful, playful adventure of the kind you watch with children. With a magic potion, a long journey and comic characters, little ones are easily entertained. Grown-ups who know the Asterix comics will find a familiar world, and children who don't can still follow along. Don't expect a deep message, but the emphasis on friendship and helping those who ask is welcome. A light pick the whole household can laugh at together.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

For a series reaching its fourth instalment, the biggest risk is fatigue, and this one does not seem to escape it. The script blends two albums, from 1965 and 1966, in search of richer material, but merging two separate stories into one film is a choice that invites a loss of focus. Handing the role of Asterix to Édouard Baer this time means the duo's chemistry has to be rebuilt, while Depardieu plays Obelix for the last time. The 3D shooting, new to the series, remains more a technical novelty than a storytelling one. So the negative critical response is no surprise; in my view, even a cast full of strong names such as Catherine Deneuve and Fabrice Luchini cannot pull this scattered structure together on its own.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The core idea of Asterix is a small community that refuses to bow to a vast empire, and this film carries that idea from Gaul to Britain. As Caesar's legions swiftly take the island, the one village that will not surrender asks for help from another rebel village across the sea, which puts solidarity between peoples at the heart of the story. Of course this is not history but a fable that plays with history; Roman expansion around 50 BC is just scenery here. Still, the notion that, with a barrel of magic potion, the small can stand up to the mighty helps explain why the comics have been loved for generations.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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