Les couloirs du temps: Les visiteurs 2 (1998)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Jean-Marie Poiré

Writers:

Christian Clavier (writer)
Jean-Marie Poiré (writer)

Release Date:

27 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi | Fantasy

Tagline:

Ils reviennent!

Plot:

Knight Godefroy has to return to our time from 1023 to get back the sacred jewels that Jacquouille has taken to the 20th century.

Plot Keywords:

Jewel | Knight | Medieval | Sequel | Castle

Cast

Christian Clavier	...	Jacquouille la Fripouille / Jacques-Henri Jacquard / Prosper le Purineur / Jacouillet
Jean Reno	...	Comte Godefroy de Montmirail, dit Godefroy le Hardi
Muriel Robin	...	Frénégonde / Béatrice
Marie-Anne Chazel	...	Ginette
Jean-Luc Caron	...	Ganelon
Patrick Burgel	...	Duc Fulbert
Eric Averlant	...	Brother Raoul
Armelle	...	Pétronille
Pierre Vial	...	Eusaebe
Franck-Olivier Bonnet	...	Boniface
Philippe Morier-Genoud	...	Frère Ponce
Philippe Nahon	...	Le gérant du supermarché
Christian Bujeau	...	Jean-Pierre
Olivier Claverie	...	Le médecin
Olga Sékulic	...	Hilda

Also Known As:

Les couloirs du temps
The Corridors of Time (Singapore: English title) (festival title)
The Corridors of Time: The Visitors II

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Château de Beynac, Beynac, Dordogne, France

Company:

Canal+

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: Reflected in Jean-Pierre's car at the wedding.

Quotes:

Jacquouille la Fripouille: [the police car crashes into the post van] It's the Saracen, sire!
Postman: The sickos are back!
[runs off]
Postman: The sickos are back! The sickos are back! The sickos are back
[etc]

Movie Connections:

References "The X Files" (1993)

More irritation than fun

In a way, Corridors of Time is a success story because the movie reaches its goal : being seen by thousands. But it fails at making them laugh...

Les Visiteurs has had its success, because the subject was an original way of considering the time travel : forget about Zemeckis's Back to the future, here comes the old France, the middle-age knight and its nearly barbaric way of life. Full of pride, funny thanks to the ancient words he uses, Montmirail can sometimes be disgusting but he keeps his honor. Then comes the sequel.

Nobody had foreseen the tremendous success of Les Visiteurs, the first. And it's no use being a movie expert to realize that the Corridors of Time has been made for money.

The general story begins after the end of Les Visiteurs, and immediately tries to justify the sequel with a time paradox that would have needed some second tought. Explanation : it's no use trying to get back the jewelry Jacquouille has stolen ; don't you remember this nice red shiny and expensive car he bought at the end of the 1st episode ? Where do you think he found the money ? Selling the jewelry... And that's only one of many holes Poiré tries to avoid... and fails.

Let's have a look at the characters : Montmirail doesn't change, he's just a little more boring. Regarding Frenegonde... that's another story : Valérie Lemercier decided not to compromise herself in this sequel to avoid getting stuck in the bourgeoise role. And Muriel Robin tries to imitate her in a way that I found so pitiful I nearly felt pain for her. And Poiré doesn't realize that a cast of humorists isn't enough to make a good comedy.

Forget about the time travels, about the digital effects, concentrate on the story and you'll see that there's enough room on a mail stamp to write it 10 times.

The main interest of this film is the landscapes. A movie for youngsters, let's say up to 13 years old.