Photo of the Day

Athletes, including real kickboxer Jérôme Le Banner (centre), getting ready for the Olympics in ASTERIX AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

This film was a success at the box office but critics (and eventually, audiences) destroyed it. Production wise the film is excellent (it cost 78 million Euros) but the humour was, to the majority of the French audience, lacking, saying that ASTERIX MISSION CLEOPATRA was much better. They also said the film should have been called BRUTUS & THE OLYMPIC GAMES as the Brutus character had more screen time than anyone else, including Asterix who doesn't do much in this. The controversy of this artistic failure of this film is sorta fascinating and a bit perplexing. Personally, the Asterix films have always been too broad and watching real actors play comic book characters such as Obelix are always difficult to take (see also POPEYE starring Robin Williams for a horrific example). Personally I prefer this film (which is not saying much) because it's simply more visual and also because Alain Delon plays Caesar which was brilliant casting. I probably chuckled three or four times. The producers hired real athletes willing to appear in cameos, such as Michael Schumacher. David Beckham was scheduled to appear in a cameo but didn't make it in the final cut.