By James O’brien
Last updated at 7:42 AM on 22nd April 2011
Verdict: Viva Adele!
Rating: 
A wise-cracking female adventurer in pursuit of a supernatural historical artefact while pursued by a dizzying array of cartoonish bad guys sounds a lot like Indiana Jones in a frock.
Thankfully, in the hands of the mercurial director Luc Besson (Leon, The Fifth Element), our heroine’s derring-do is rendered anything but derivative.
If any echoes are detectable, they are of Terry Gilliam’s immersions in fantastical scenarios and, thanks to liberal applications of latex and prosthetics, the story’s source: the French comic books of Jacques Tardi. At the heart of the film’s success is the central performance of former TV weather-girl Louise Bourgoin.
Weathergirl turned film star: Louise Bourgoin as Adele
An Edwardian travel writer with a penchant for extreme archaeology, she is seeking the mummified remains of a pharaoh’s physician in the hope her mad scientist and amateur resurrectionist friend, Professor Esperandieu (Jacky Nercessian), will bring him back to life.