Reviews

It's been a while since an Asterix animation film has been released in cinema's, and as a fan of the series I was very thrilled when I heard the news about a new one. But with the last two live-action movies about this crazy yellow moustached Gaul, my hopes weren't that high.

Well, let me first put your minds at ease, this movie is way WAY better than the live-action flicks about asterix!

It's been a while since I laughed more than 10 times with the humour in an animation film, but this one did the job exceptionally well. There is a good mixture of jokes, both for kids and adults.

The story is based on comic-book nr. 17 (Le Domaine des Dieux). The story isn't very original, but is stays interesting enough and it is fast-paced, without any dull moments.

However, I recommend that you know something about the world of Asterix before seeing this movie, because you get literally thrown in to the movie without any background-story. It is truly a movie for the fans of the comic books, viewers who never heard of Asterix will not always get the jokes or puns because they don't know the background-story.

The visuals are stunning and the look of the characters are very recognizable without any unnecessary changes to them.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Asterix, Obelix and the rest of the gang again in such a positive way, and I hope to see a sequel of the same quality soon :)!

it does an great job in catching the spirit of the comics and the older animation films. I recommend it ! 8/10

If you're looking for a movie night out with a strong, complex story with well layered characters and where you build up an emotional bond with those characters, well then you better skip this one.. One the other hand, if you're just looking for a fun and thrilling movie with lots of fighting scenes, the reconstruction and total destruction of an ancient Roman city and outstanding special effects, I would say just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.

Of course this movie won't win an Oscar, duh.. we all knew what direction this movie was going to take with Paul WS Anderson in control. But unlike many of his movies, I must say that I enjoyed this one. To go even further, this might be his best film up to now. Yes I know, that's not saying much looking at his repertoire, but comparing to the crap (like the three musketeers) this guy made the past few years, this one is a pearl.

Let's start with the cons: 1. the characters aren't worked out well, they're not dull but you can feel there's missing something. 2. The story is far from perfect and we've seen it many times before, but nonetheless it's entertaining. Beware however for a lot of clichés. 3. The destruction of Pompeii depicted in the movie isn't historically correct. The same applies to the depiction of the gladiators, who were in fact not all slaves and above all good gladiators were treated very well. 4. The love story is a bit mealy, but overall didn't bother me that much.

The pros: 1. The visuals are truly stunning. The eruption of the volcano, the destruction that it brings, the fights are a feast for the eye. 2. They really did an amazing job reconstructing ancient Pompeii. People who love ancient Roman civilization and architecture will love seeing the reconstruction of this ancient city in her former glory. 3. It's also nice that they put some details of daily life of pompeii in the film, like the insulea, the viae (streets) with stepping stones, the funerary monuments outside the city gates, the termopolia (snack bars) etc. etc. 4. The acting is not the best you'll ever see, but it suffice. Especially Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje does a good job. Kit Harington's acting isn't great, his expression is rather monotonous, but he stood his man in the action scenes. 5. The movie doesn't shy away from violence, which in this case is a good thing. However it's not as brute as I would've wanted it to be for a disaster movie with gladiators..

Overall I really enjoyed this movie, just don't expect too much of it and you'll probably have a great time. It is what it is, a fun popcorn- movie, not more but also not less. I normally would give this movie a 6/10, but because I have a weakness for historical movies I'll rate Pompeii with a solid 7.

7/10 ~ Review by GlenBender