| |
atomik circus
| | |
ATOMIK CIRCUS: THE RETURN OF JAMES BATTLE
(2004)
Directed by Didier Poiraud and Thierry Poiraud
Starring: Vanessa Paradis, Jason Flemyng, Benoit Poelvoorde, Jean-Pierre Marielle
Reviewed by Jeremy Silman
Watson Scale rating (0 being worst and 6 being perfect): 2
I was really looking forward to this French film. It was billed as an
oddity that started as comedy and ended in a whole community being
mercilessly slaughtered by tentacled aliens. I couldn't wait. When it
comes to aliens slaughtering humans, I'm all for it! No boring
Euro-drama here. This kind of flick seemed made for the classic
drive-in theaters of yesteryear.
Starring Johnny Depp's paramour, Vanessa Paradis, it sounded like fun
for all, so I prepared a mountain of popcorn, readied my thumbs in the
down position (for those final death scenes), and settled into my
patented movie-watching position.
If you've ever driven through the pristine French countryside, you know
how picturesque it all is. Thus, I think I can be forgiven for
suspecting that I'd fired up the wrong movie when the countryside
seemed right out of a bayou postcard, and the actors seemed more like
Boss Hogg and his cronies then elitist Frenchmen. Yes, they were
speaking French (with no Southern twang at all), but everyone in the
town would have fit in nicely at a Dukes of Hazzard reunion.
Okay, I hadn't seen that coming, but once the sense of displacement
wore off, I found the whole thing mildly entertaining. What made the
first part of the film laugh out loud funny, though, was not
much-too-skinny (and shockingly uninteresting) Paradis, or the
imbecilic motorbike cops, or the (very) poor man's Bruce Campbell
(Jason Flemyng as James Battle). No, the real star of the show was a
small dog that needed just one insane smirk to render me helpless on
the floor. It took a while to recover from the canine broadside, but
another glance from its "bake Silman's brain" eyes once again blasted
me into near coma.
It was at this point, when I wanted the actors to vanish and the dog to
take center stage, that the aliens descended on the screen and ruined
the whole movie. Yes, they ripped countless human heads off for the
final 20 minutes, but there was no rhyme or reason for their actions,
and the death-scenes became repetitious and uninteresting. I kept
watching, of course. Perhaps the dog would save the world, and I didn't
want to miss it. Sadly, the director didn't recognize the furry gold in
his grasp, and the dog wasn't used again.
In the end, the "French of Hazzard" almost pulled it off. But the very
thing that I had looked forward to (i.e. the alien devastation) became
the film's curse.
If you are looking for a good "alien creatures kill people" movie, take
a look at the very well done PITCH BLACK. If you want a comedy with a
troubling, distasteful end, tune into C-Span and watch a session of
Congress. And if you're after a Boss Hogg wannabe, listen to a speech
by any Republican presidential candidate.
| | Copyright © 2007 Jeremy Silman |
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
