Monster kills police chief! Police clueless!

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec

(2010)

I'm not familiar with the source material for this, although Luc Besson - who now seems to be only mostly retired if it means making the occasional film with his kids in mind - has the visual acumen to make a live action Tintin should it ever fall from the paws of the motion capturers.

The problem here is that, whilst he creates an interesting and larger-than-life period milieu, Besson's material never rises above the amiably quirky and incidental. So it's fairly unmemorable, Adele's flashback to Egypt tomb raiding aside. And while the prosthetics-enhanced grotesques that populate the supporting roles create a consistency, other effects work, the CGI pterodactyl in particular (and later Egyptian mummies), is less impressive and shows up the budget constraints.

I wish I'd liked this more, but unfortunately the "Indiana Jones meets Amelie" quote from Empire on the DVD sleeve is merely wishful thinking.

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He’s probably paranoid, high-strung, doesn’t like daylight. You know, has a lot of crumbs in his beard, if he has a beard.

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It's Dark Age, by Jupiter!

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You stink, my friend.

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Wow. Asteroids are made of farts. Okay. I got it.

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UFO IN MOSSINGHAM?

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Careful how much boat you’re eating.

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By heaven, I’d thrash the life out of you… if I didn’t have to read the Nine O’Clock News.

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Well, I’ll be damned. It’s the gentleman guppy.

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Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

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