Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Lucky Luke Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 16, 2010

James Huth's "Lucky Luke" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors UGC PH. The supplemental features on the disc, none of which are English-friendly, include an audio commentary with James Huth; "Sous le ciel d'Argentine", a collection of photos; "A l'ombre des FVX: les secrets des effets speciaux", a look at the special effects in the film; and "Le betisier", a gag reel. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

In the Wild Wild West

Not a lot of people in America know about Harald Reinl’s Winnetou films, but some thirty years ago they meant a lot to me. Where I grew up, they were the only Westerns the local theater would show. At the time there was not enough money to buy the more expensive Spaghetti Westerns from Italy, so we were forced to watch all sorts of different cheap Westerns from the former GDR, Yugoslavia and even Romania. Unsurprisingly, we worshipped the likes of Pierre Brice, Lex Barker and Goiko Mitic.

Eventually, things changed, and the films of Sergio Leone, Lucio Fulci, Luigi Bazzoni, Michele Lupo, Enzo Barboni and countless other Italian directors started making their way to our theater. To this day, Giorgio Ferroni’s Blood for a Silver Dollar (1965), starring the enigmatic Giuliano Gemma, remains one of my all time favorite Westerns.

French Westerns were a rarity. The only one I remember seeing was Luc Moulet’s terrific Une aventure de Billy le Kid, also known as A Girl is a Gun (1971), starring Jean-Pierre Leaud (this is a film that someone should finally release in North America). Around the same time I also saw Terence Young’s wonderful Soleil rouge (1971), starring Alain Delon, Toshiro Mifune, and Charles Bronson, but, as most of you probably know well, this was a very different Western, and one that was certainly not French.

James Huth’s Lucky Luke is a French Western inspired by the work of legendary Belgian cartoonist Maurice De Bevere a.k.a Morris and French writer René Goscinny. In it, the famous cowboy (Jean Dujardin, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) arrives in Daisy Town, a crime infested cesspool, which the President of the United States has asked him to clean up. He immediately confronts Pat Poker (Daniel Prévost, The Dinner Game), the town’s biggest troublemaker, and much to everyone’s surprise kills him in a duel. Gravely disappointed by his actions, Lucky Luke decides to commit suicide. However, thanks to his horse, who suddenly begins talking to him, he changes his mind and instead becomes a farmer. He also falls in love with a beautiful cabaret dancer Belle (Alexandra Lamy, Modern Love), who immediately makes it clear to him that she would love to be a mother.

Naturally, Lucky Luke is soon forced to reconsider his plan - the President of the United States is kidnapped by a powerful villain on a mission and, naturally, only he can free him. Joined by Billy the Kid (Michael Youn, The Dope), Jesse James (Melvil Poupaud, Time to Leave) and Calamity Jane (Sylvie Testud, Fear and Trembling), Lucky Luke goes after the villain and quickly ends up at a place he never imagined existed.

Lucky Luke is a pretty silly film. Right from the get-go, director Huth makes it perfectly clear that nothing in it should be taken seriously, and until the very last scene he does not disappoint. This allows for a fairly relaxed viewing experience, even though eventually the various spoofs in his film become rather tiresome.

The overall tone of the film is set by a strong lead performance from young French comedian Jean Dujardin; an actor who has been incredibly busy since his appearance in director Huth’s hugely popular in France Brice de Nice (2005). Strong cameos from Melvil Poupaud and especially Sylvie Testud, who has garnered substantial critical acclaim for her performance in Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes (2009), also provide Lucky Luke with a much needed boost.

Unfortunately, the script relies on too many cliches that effectively negate most, if not everything, the strong cast works hard to accomplish. The action, though impressively lensed, also seems fairly bland and unoriginal.

Lucky Luke Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, James Huth's Lucky Luke arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UGC PH.

This is an exceptionally strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is outstanding, clarity excellent and contrast levels simply impeccable. Without an exception, the panoramic scenes look gorgeous. The close-ups are also very impressive. The film's color-scheme does not disappoint either. The variety of different yellows, greens, blues, browns and blacks look exceptionally rich and wonderfully saturated. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. Neither are artifacting and ringing, or DNR. Blown through a digital projector, Lucky Luke looks outstanding. The image conveys wonderful depth and sense of dimension. Additionally, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review whatsoever. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing scratches, cuts, dirt, or stains. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. Please note that there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Lucky Luke Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, UGC PH have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels intelligently used and the high-frequencies not overdone. The numerous shootouts throughout the film sound excellent; there are all sorts of different surround effects that would likely test the muscles of your audio system. On the other hand, balance is also handled well. The dialog is crisp, clean and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no balance issues with Bruno Coulais' music score either. Finally, I did not detect any pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is equally impressive. Obviously, it lacks the strong surround effects the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has, but dynamically it is as aggressive as a standard DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track could be. Unsurprisingly, the dialog is crisp, clean and very easy to follow.

Lucky Luke Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: The supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of processing native PAL data, in order to view them.

Commentary - an audio commentary with director James Huth. In French, not subtitled in English.

Sous le ciel d'Argentine - a collection of photos, with a commentary by director James Huth, from a variety of different locations that were considered during pre-production. In French, not subtitled in English. (32 min).

A l'ombre des FVX: les secrets des effets speciaux - a look at the special effects in the film. In French, not subtitled in English. (20 min).

Le betisier - a gag reel. In French, not subtitled in English. (3 min).

Lucky Luke Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Entertaining but far from original, James Huth's Lucky Luke should appeal to those who enjoyed Barry Sonnenfeld's Wild Wild West. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of French distributors UGC PH, looks and sounds terrific. It is also English-friendly and Region-Free. RECOMMENDED.