Le Magnifique (1973)

	Also Known As: How to Destroy the Reputation of the Greatest Secret Agent
	Year of first release: 1973
	Director: Philippe de Broca (Cartouche)
	Actors: Jean-Paul Belmondo (Le Cerveau, L'As des As), Jacqueline Bisset (Bullitt), Vittorio Caprioli
	Country: F, I
	Genre: Action, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 06.01.2014, DVD, Home cinema
Synopsis: Bob Saint-Clar (Belmondo) is a super-secret agent, shooting bad guys out of trees without even looking. He is actually the hero of a series of novels written by François Merlin (Belmondo), struggling to make a living.
Review: This is the kind of movies I have seen many times on cathodic TV in my youth but never since. This DVD edition I purchased in a bazaar for 1.99 euros is quite allright, and a vast improvement compared to my past experience. The super agent scenes are ridiculous (they remind me now of Don't Mess with the Zohan), but this is done on purpose, as the real topic is actually the life of the writer François Merlin. As the movie goes, the events in his life influence more and more the fate of the secre tagent in the novel. This concept is interesting and I never fully grasped it when I was younger. However it is still done with a comedy tone, so a serious reflexion cannot really follow. Note that the ridiculous character of the secret agent inspired a famous DJ to get his stage name: Bob Sinclar.
Rating: 4 /10