katikat | MMM: #6 Michel Vaillant

A French action movie? Written by Luc Besson, definitely. As it's the case with Michel Vaillant. And because it's a Luc Besson movie, it's visually stunning and the sound mixing is out of this world! And I love it to pieces!

Many people complain that this is not a movie for race car lovers. Yes, it's not a movie for race car lovers. It's a movie based on comic books and an animated series that I used to love as a kid. It's all about how it looks and about the characters. And the characters are simply amazing!

Michel... Ah, Michel has stolen my heart all those years ago and I love him still. And I adore the way he's portrayed in this movie, by Sagamore Stévenin. Because Michel is not a jerk with a heart of gold. He's confident, smart and self-aware, really kind and... mellow, I would say, quiet and not at all flashy. But he's also very certain of his skills and just cocky enough not to be a Marty-Stu - see him driving blind on the track.

And all the other characters! Julie, Jean-Pierre, David, Steve, Gabrielle... I adored all their relationships. Yes, there was friendly rivalry but with emphasis on friendly. The relationships were simply amazing. They loved each other so much. The Vaillant team was one big family. And it was amazing.

Another thing I adored was that there was no prejudice against women in the team. Both Julie and Gabrielle were welcome, they had to prove themselves like all the other racers and that was it. The fact that they were missing the dangly bits was not held against them in any way. Wow. I need more movies like that, basically leading by example!

This is my feel-good movie when I want to see a family oriented action stuff. The Vaillants rock!