Perfect cast and a good story

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fantastic!

Absolutely brilliant

I used to read the comics as a kid... by now, I only vaguely remember them, and those of the animated attempts that were produced that I watched, but a lot of things do seem to fit with what I remember. And hey, at least it's produced by the French, featuring the French, France being where the comic is actually from. There are many details that ring true as far as the source material goes... the first few moments contain a well-known image from the comics, reproduced in live action. This also has an interpretation of the singing of the village musician(I can't claim to know the original French names). Also seen is a recreation of the village leader on his shield. Whether or not you particularly care for seeing this, and whether or not you agree with this envisioning of it, it's there to take in. The small dog is there, as well, and he gets used some for comedy(if in fairly morbid and grotesque ways). The production values are of high quality. The acting is pretty good, if some is overacted, more or less intentionally. Depardieu isn't bad in his native language, either(and he is a fairly logical choice, as far as physical type goes, for Obélix, and Roberto Benigni(who, I guess, speaks French...?) is one of the best additions(although one could argue that he wasn't up against much), and gets several laughs. Ceasar was done well, the actor looks and performs as he should. The humor isn't bad, if at times childish, much of it derived from the comics(more or less well-integrated in the film) and some of it is run right into the ground. I did laugh at this film, if not terribly often. I watched this in the original, French language(not a fan of dubbing... actually, that's a powerful understatement), but some of the material still worked. The pacing is reasonable, well, it runs fine, at least. The plot isn't too bad, and works, if some more or less minor points don't make sense once you think about them(and one sub-plot is never fully resolved, characters not seen in the film anymore once they've done what they were there to do). Some things are lifted from the comics, though perhaps too much material from there was used, leaving too little time for development of what there is, as others have pointed out. This is a cartoon brought to life, obvious in the action(which I'm honestly not sure I've ever found particularly intense... entertaining, occasionally, maybe, but not intense). One particular character shows that the French, too, know of, and stoop to, the lowest common denominator(though I suppose it could have been more gratuitous, but this is at least partially a children's film... torture sequences and such notwithstanding). Most of the characters from the comics seem to be there(again, whether or not they're properly done or well-integrated can be debated). The effects are quite good, and help with the cartoon-y action that we know from the original stories by Goscinny(R.I.P.). Some ideas could have been explored in what the plot does, in particular something near the very end, but are not. There is one reference that could be considered clever... but by the second time it's made... yeah. The music isn't bad. The casting and costumes aren't bad. I guess fans might enjoy it, if they aren't too attached to the original. Making live action productions of drawn source material is seldom a good idea. I recommend this to those who want a live-action version of Astérix and Obélix, but not those looking for a good one. Whether or not the second one would fulfill that need, I can't say. 6/10

This surely shows how bad a picture can get when everyone tries hard and gives generous money to people who neither love film nor their subject - let alone viewers.The settings look cheaper than on any 5th grade school theatre I've ever seen, the special effects, mostly computer-generated, must have been made on old Robotron machines by folks who have never even seen a computer mouse.All that doesn't matter much since the actors, who have all shown quite good abilities in other motion pictures, ham it up big time, guided by a director with cheap TV movies in mind. Whatever Claude Zidi has done in the past to earn his name for entertaining comedies didn't remotely enter this venture.Only two of the actors get something out of their roles: Roberto Benigni and Gottfried John. While the former is obviously the only one in the whole affair having a clear sense of farce, the latter goes over the top in his portrait of Cesar. Nonetheless, he is consistent in this.Add to that a hodgepodge script, cobbled together from various Asterix stories. Unfortunately the authors forgot that any film needs a uniting theme, a plot and dialogues. Alright, there is dialogue in this ... and listening to it one begs for this to be a silent movie.France once made quite good movies, particularly farcical comedies, but that was then. This film is now.

"Asterix et Obelix contre Cesar"!! This film is formidable, and who makes the movie so great is Christian Clavier: without this lovely actor "Asterix et Obelix contre Cesar" would not be so beautiful. Mr Clavier let the spectator feel so many emotions! Don't miss this film: it's a precious chance to admire the splendid performance of a charming actor: Christian Clavier!!!

Although people are saying that the actors didn't capture the essence of the characters, I thought that most of them did! The only exceptions are Getafix, who didn't look at all wise, just demented, and Vitalstatistix who wasn't egotistical enough (Impedimenta was too tall as well). I thought Geriatrix and his wife were perfect, and Christian Clavier (who was also in the marvelous Les Visiteurs), was hilarious (especially when he got a spider in his mouth!) I have read all the Asterix comics, and I thought this film captured the essence perfectly, although, I agree, it would have been cool to see the pirates!10 out of 10!