Kaamelott 2, part 1: an ambitious and innovative episode, despite its pacing problems (review)
This new chapter in the Arthurian saga sees Alexandre Astier confront for good his desire for a large format adventure comedy, half Gérard Oury, half Peter Jackson.
The first film Kaamelottreleased in the summer of 2021 in the covid chaos of cinemas subject to the health pass, left those faithful to the saga with a taste of unfinished business. The wait had been long (12 years!) since the end of the TV series, but the film nevertheless seemed “rushed”, unfinished, as if it had come out of the editing room too quickly. Four years later, we look back on it as an aperitif, an appetizer, a little warm-up before the serious things really begin. And the serious things are here, now, with this Kaamelott – second part (part 1)start of the central part of the Kaamelott film trilogy, before part 2 which will be released in November 2026.
If you’re a fan, you know very well where we stand. Otherwise, no one will blame you for being a little lost… To summarize, let’s say that this is the moment when, according to the laws of movie trilogies laid down by George Lucas, the tone becomes darker, and the heroes scatter to the four corners of the universe to experience parallel adventures. Here, in this case, it is a question of the knights of the Round Table setting out to complete a quest, in order to prove their bravery.
But before Alexandre Astier (screenwriter, director, headliner, producer, editor, composer and absolute one-man band of all this barnum) really shows what he’s doing, it’s a question, as is often the case in Kaamelott, of beating around the bush a little. The Round Table is being reconstituted, everyone is eager to go and find the Grail, but the King is reluctant. Arthur is depressed and the rare times he leaves his bed it is to hang out in his pajamas and grumble. We would think we had returned to the time of Book V, in 2007, when the theme of depression was present in Kaamelott, and demonstrated in passing that the author Astier was not afraid of anything.
The difference is that time has passed, the hair of the actors (and some of the spectators) has turned white, and we logically fear the effect of repetition, of rehashing. However, very quickly, as always in Kaamelott, the actors will sweep away any reluctance in a burst of contagious pleasure. They are happy, you can see it, you can hear it. Christian Clavier has a scene opposite Arthur where all his sycophantic and “de-Funesian” verve bursts out, reminding us what a comic giant he can be when a caring author has created a text with little details for him. Ditto for newcomers Haroun, Redouane Bougheraba or the great Daniel Mesguich, who plays an enigmatic mage with obvious relish, giving the resolutely magical tone of this episode.
Then, once Arthur is finally re-motivated, and after a formidable sequence of arguments around the Round Table, it is time to go on an adventure. The film then takes the form of a choral epic, subject to the laws of parallel editing. The desire to finally confront Kaamelott with his “epic” DNA (generally left off-screen in the series) is laudable, but only half-convincing. We never fully feel the thrill of danger, of peril, of suspense, that the film would like to communicate to us. The adventure remains an idea, more theoretical than truly embodied, despite the fact that we see the characters wandering around in frankly hostile lands.
The transitions from one sequence to the next are sometimes laborious, creating a false rhythm that makes the second half of the film seem a bit lame. This is the Kaamelott paradox: we like it when the saga grows and invents new horizons, while telling ourselves that Astier is never as good as when he films knights entangled in prosaic problems, flush with the daisies. For example, when faced with a junction, they argue endlessly about whether it is better to take the right or the left. There are some beautiful visual ideas nonetheless, imagery that is sometimes striking when it truly delves into darkness and fantasy – see all the sequences involving Lancelot grappling with the specter of his father and his dark thoughts.
Basically, the qualities and faults of KV2 – part 1 could be summed up in the way the character of Perceval is treated – or rather his absence. The departure of actor Franck Pitiot from the saga was widely commented on, experienced by fans as heartbreaking. Kaamelott 2 without Perceval, it’s a bit as if R2-D2 had refused to return for The Empire Strikes Back. How can we do without one of the flagship characters of the series, its most endearing comic relief? The option chosen – involving Perceval through letters that other characters read – sums up the ambivalent feelings that we can have in front of this Kaamelott who experiments, breaks the codes and refuses to look back. In Perceval’s letters, we hear Alexandre Astier’s intact talent as a dialogue writer. But the character’s “music”, hilarious and so familiar, also makes us realize how much we miss his interpreter. We have to make up our minds: Kaamelott’s raison d’être is to burn the ships, to move forward, without ever looking back. And to always postpone our final judgments to the next episode, to the next metamorphosis of the saga. We will only be able to reasonably judge this film when we have seen the second half of the puzzle. A year and a month of waiting is a long time. But we will be there.
By Alexandre Astier. With Alexandre Astier, Anne Girouard, Jean-Christophe Hembert… Duration: 2h36. In theaters October 22, 2025
