Asterix & Obelix: God Save Britannia (2012)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This is a very cute adaptation (with updates) of the classic Asterix comics. The version I had only had French audio with subtitles available in English. This wasn't a problem, as one of the running gags of the film is that French actors playing English characters (most notably the impossibly elegant Catherine Deneuve) speak with their French with horrible English accents. The prize for best/worst Frenglish goes to Charlotte Le Bon, who sounds like she's flunking her first semester of French. The jokes are generally cute-but-harmless, notably the 5:00 hot water break that defines life in England at the time of Caesar. There are references to Star Wars and A Clockwork Orange that don't appear in the 1966 source material, and an Indian character who might strike a contemporary audience as uncomfortable. Still, of all the live-action Asterix films, this one seems to best capture the spirit and absurdity of the comics. Very sweet, very fun, and well worth catching on video.

I liked this movie very much. I watched Asterix and Obelix Meet Cleopatra the other day and got the hang of the movie and the characters. And this movie has a fair amount of characters too, and all of them are very well etched and everyone has a fair part to play. There is this English nobleman who follows strict rules in life and a similarly behaved older woman who takes care of his fiancé. There is Caesar and his army trying to conquer the Britons. There is a bunch called Normans, whose only aim in life is to experience fear after which they believe they could fly. Fantastic Queen of England and last but not the least Asterix & Obelix. Every character is very detailed that they take a place in your heart, even a thief who comes only in two small scenes. The movie is kind of a spoof of lot of things, but trust me it never ruins the mood like the movies made by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. What more can you expect from Asterix and Obelix movie other than fun? Turned out very enjoyable for me. Just give it a try

As a movie of its own its watchable and would deserve maybe a 4 out of 10, as an Atstérix movie its horrible and as an adaptation of the legendary "Astérix chez les Bretons" its a revolting abomination.What made Astérix so good was the subtlety of the humour and yes they made references to modern cultures too but not in such obvious way.Also the authors had so much talent and such a huge cultural background, comparing their work to this movie make it look like it was written by a bunch of drunk teenagers.On the good side the guy playing Jolitorax was funny even tho he looked nothing like the original character.In my opinion Edouard Baer is always funny but except for the costume he was just himself and nothing like Astérix, same with Cesar except Fabrice Luchini isn't so funny.Depardieu did what he could with the lines he had, nothing special or memorable.I was surprised by the Normand, they were like in the cartoons for once but one was named "Yadutaf" ... I wont write what I think about that cause they don't allow vulgarity on this website.I don't get why they removed many good characters and moments to replace them by very bad ones... The worst was Gaulix, they just replaced him by a lame English character with no lines or personality. Maybe its just me but he was one of my favorite Astérix character. I had such hopes for this character and they just removed him ... I mean whats wrong with Gaulix ? Was he too "french" for an audience that is brainwashed into hating their identity.Even tho the title was repulsive and the movie bound to be awful, I watched it out of nostalgia and ended up frustrated. If like me the original is one of your best childhood memories, do yourself a favour and keep these memories intact by not watching this pathetic "adaptation".This movie is a good example of the decline of french culture and society, France really needs an intervention like they do with people who fall from grace although the same could be said about most occidental countries...Yeah yeah I know, I'm done ranting.

The famous comics characters by Goscinny and Uderzo ride again, this time impersonated by real actors: Obélix by Gérard Depardieu who makes an excellent imitation of the comics character and Astérix by Edouard Baer who doesn't look much like his comics counterpart. The story portrays a pretended help asked by the Queen of Britain from those Gauls that have been resisting for so long in a small village to the Roman invasion since now Julius Caesar has invaded Britain which he intends to conquer. It develops itself in a continuous series of gags and funny situations with somewhat disguised references to political and social usages and practices of our present times. The dialogues above all convey those references on purpose which increases and enhances the funny nature of the respective scenes. For instance the Queen of Britain (performed by the great beautiful actress Catherine Deneuve) dresses practically like she could have dressed nowadays and wears a crown 100% identical to the present British Queen one. Some gags are very good some others not so funny. The special visual effects are first class. The final musical show in the end is fabulous. You may go to see this movie anyway with the assurance that you will have great fun.