NEWSPAPER – The new adventures of the very special agent in the meanders of Françafrique were expected. Mission accomplished ?
“How’s your blanquette?” Hubert Bonisseur le Bath’s replica immediately became cult following the release ofOSS 117: Rio no longer responds twelve years ago. The third opus of the wise, in theaters since Wednesday, does he reserve such tirades? New shutter, new frame, new director. This time, Nicolas Bedos takes the reins of this new adaptation of the spy novel, succeeding Michel Hazanavicius.
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The world has changed, but our dear secret agent remains true to himself. OSS 117 goes this time to Africa to put down a coup d’état, as part of a Françafrique which is crumbling. Aging, the hero must team up with the young OSS 1001, played by Pierre Niney. The film takes place in the last months of the presidency of Valéry Giscard d’Estaing with which seems to be extinguished an outdated conception of French espionage in a world that is constantly changing.
For Éric Neuhoff, critic at Figaro, plunging this very Fourth Republic character into a universe where benchmarks evolve at high speed, once again works. “The world has changed and our favorite agent has noticed nothing. Such an unconsciousness constitutes the most gratifying spectacle ”, he believes. The film thus excels in irony. “The writers may have founded a genre, the second degree that may not be (unless it’s the other way around), the enormities uttered with the most disarming innocence“, Judge Éric Neuhoff in unison with part of the press who admits having been seduced by the new adventures of Hubert Bonisseur.
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“It’s silly but it’s funny. And it feels so good», Summarizes the Sunday Newspaper . Marianne judge the movie “Honors a genre, popular comedy, often abused by cynics and acclaimed by the public”. “We applaud Nicolas Bedos“, Explain The voice of the North. He had the right profile to perpetuate this festival of dubious and enjoyable jokes while ensuring the spectacle. We had a good laugh, and we weren’t even ashamed.“As for the Parisian, he adds:”Kidnapped, packed with action scenes, this OSS 117 is a festival of hilarious situations. “
So, mission accomplished for the secret agent? Not for everybody. According to Large screen , Red Alert in Africa surpasses the previous components, but “in only one area: discomfort“. “There is a real problem in this third installment of OSS 117: the handling of this politically incorrect. If the films of Michel Hazanavicius were fully, they never glorified the character of Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath for all that.», Regrets the critic.
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First is not so vindictive but judges that “something is wrong»Because Nicolas Bedos does not really assume his speech. “The scenario seems to follow every daring or inflated valve on Africa and Africans with a scene that looks like a justification or an excuse», Underlines the magazine.
This third version would have benefited from having a quarter of an hour less
Eric Neuhoff, Le Figaro
The world underlines for its part the weaknesses of the scenario. “Once the spectator has grasped the message – which we are also entitled to dispute -, all that remains is to follow a somewhat flat and warmed up plot, which the acting sometimes manages to forget.“, Estimates the daily.
Conquered or skeptical, all critics however agree on one point: this component remains below the first two films. “This third version would have gained by having a quarter of an hour less”, says Eric Neuhoff. “Let’s say it, this opus is probably not at the level of the previous two (all have the same screenwriter, Jean-François Halin). The rival spy duo Dujardin-Niney works great … until the script doesn’t quite know what to do with them.», Notes The voice of the North .
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