Agent Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, or spy OSS 117, was invented by writer Jean Bruce in the 1940s (meaning that it was before Ian Fleming's James Bond 007). A first french movie was made in the 1950s, but it was in the mid 1960s, after the success of Sean Connery's Bond, that French/Italian productions created their own low budget but serious spy franchise for European audiences. 6 movies of the adventures of OSS 117 were made between 1963 and 1970, with various actors portraying the spy. 36 years later, the franchise was rebooted, but this time with the comic-Austin-Powers-style-twist of the spy spoof. "OSS 117: Le Caire, nid d'espions" (2006) directed by Michel Hazanavicius and staring Jean Dujardin as the macho but inconvenient spy, was a fantastic comedy which I enjoyed very much. Recently the same team has brought us a second outing of the spy, switching 1950s post war french Egypt for 1960s flower power Brazil. Unfortunately, this second movie fails to live up to the first, despite having very hilarious moments. The pre-title sequence sees OSS 117 saving the day in Switzerland against the chinese spies (who will eventually follow him to Brazil and give some funny sequences). But the real mission consists of going to Brazil to trade a valuable microchip with an ex-Nazi. Basically, the concept is the same as in the first movie. He teams up with a girl, beautiful Louise Monot who is made to resemble Bond girl Gemma Arterton in "Quantum of Solace", who doesn't like him at first but eventually falls for him in the end, and off they go in various twists and turns in the quest for the microfilm and the arrest of the Nazis, along Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Iguaçu waterfalls, and a visually stunning climax at the Corcovado in Rio. The location shooting is very well achieved, and little homages are made to "Moonraker" (1979), the only Bond movie set in Brazil. But what the first movie had in visual gags (who can forget the hilarious chicken-light scene!? or the guitar playing?!), this one fails to give, resorting almost to exhaustion to the spoken gag, squeezing to the bone OSS 117 stupidity and hollow humour, which for the fans of the first film is used up material. Also the "flashback gag", which was so funny in the first movie, here seems very much forced. But don't get me wrong, there are also things to cherish and to give a good laugh on, as the continuous gunfire gags for example (the bad guys shots never hit him), and the hospital pursuit. Also, the first movie was a direct spoof of Sean Connery's Bond, but here the case was more diversified, spoofing Dean Martin's Matt Helm spy (the opening and closing songs are also Martin's), Hitchcock ("Vertigo" and "North by Northwest"), also "To Be or Not to Be" (1942), among other movie homages. But in the end, the plot is too vague and uninteresting, and what should hold the movie together, the clumsy spy who saves the day without knowing how, the great one-liners, and the visual gags, most of them are very lame here, and a repetition of the first movie. More visual gags and less talking was needed. Actor Jean Dujardin is, however, once more brilliant in his portrayal of OSS 117. The man is pure comic genius, and the expressions on his face are priceless. Pity the screenplay didn't let him shine this time as he deserves. Funny at times, but never that funny, as the fist movie was from start to finish. A new movie is rumoured to be coming in the next year or so. We'll see if they can pick it up again, or if it will continue to decrease in quality... However, I'll continue to check it out, as long as Jean Dujardin is playing it... (and the array of beautiful girls continues)
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