There’s something very French about director Luc Besson’s latest offering, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec. Évidement, you say, fondling your onions in your Breton Stripe shirt, given that it’s a French film, in the French language about a feisty Franco femme and the general bonhomie her titular experiences evoke. Non non, mon ami, we know we’re in jolly Jeunet territory here from the get go, as a silken-tongued omniscient narrator introduces the story by listing the minutest of details concerning a secondary character whose very insignificance is the driving force behind the entire plot. Yes, ever since Mlle. Poulain wowed audiences with her wide-eyed whimsy spanning multiple-character arcs, the all-knowing raconteur has fast become a Gallic cinematic fait accompli. In this adventure, M. Je-sais-tout’s observational powers revolve around Adèle Blanc-Sec, an adventurer and novelist in a beautifully realised Belle Époque Paris.
There’s a good dollop of fun to be had in this French rehash of adventure movies that remains loyal to its comic book origins, with a polished sheen on a relatively shoestring budget. While it may not be as lavishly exciting as classic Indiana Jones, Adèle’s escapades are cheerful and slapstick, and look sumptuous on screen. The story, however, is a tad overcooked, with the plot a laborious and multi-stranded mess. No stone is left unturned as we take in archeology, fantasy, zoology, necromancy, paleontology and Egyptology, not to mention a half-boiled love interest, a barmy game hunter, a peckish policeman, a psychic professor and the dangers of sibling rivalry on the tennis court.
