Nice scenery, awful pot, nice actors, wealthy people, esotericism, some hint of nobility and many scenes of torrid sex: is this an American best seller?
Probably the most likable character is the most unlikely: "Commissaire Anne Renard" (surname!). Fun, with a strong accent, and witty, she's the only believable character, the "reality check" or necessary counterweight to all the likable heroes. The "Judas brotherhood" are not really fearful. Although very powerful, they seem to kill mainly with some 3-sided stars, much like the "ninja stars" that we used to see in 80's "ninja" B movies. And when they shoot their posh guns, they seem to be really bad shots :).
Louise Monot seems to be in about half of the movie, so it's probably a love/ hate situation: whether you liker or not her "screen presence" probably has a lot to do with how you like the series. I like her, but not the film, thou :).
Olivier Royal is a perfect hero for teenagers: handsome, elegant, caring and extremely patient with Estelle, can dispatch enemies even without guns and seemingly without doing any effort on his part. A born hero :). Again, his surname has a lot of significance.
Stunning violinist Valeria Cavalli is Sandra, a righteous wife, 2nd wife of Estelle's dad. Blonde Nadine E. is rather the opposite. As such, she succeeds. I like her sneer at Estelle in episode 8: "For you, everything is black or white...". Mehdi and Gil are the happy gay couple, necessary for political correctness and well done by their very natural cast. Their script is a cliché of "gay people".
Swiss Marthe Keller, from "Le sanglot des Anges" (also for TV), plays an elegant oracle. Odette is an old grouchy baddie with a heart. David doesn't last long into Estelle's mind, so we won't deal with him. Joyce, Estelle's mum, is so unnatural I cannot say much about her either. Julien E., her dad, is a smart respectable surgeon that, as most characters, has his share of family secrets. Louis, her grandparent, is sweet if a bit maniac about the prophecy. Henry is a classical baddie, with a deep, husky voice to match his "L'homme de pouvoir" character. Also acted in the similar series, in similar roles: "Le silence de l'épervier" and "Petits meurtres en famille" (A. Christie's remake), but this is slightly better, more entertaining at least. He did some Chabrol and also was in "Cyrano", mind you. Nadège is hateable, as the "girl in the red dress who appears all the time like a phantom". Sylvain Epstein, on the contrary, is a noble character full of good feelings, and who doesn't profit from the situation to bed his platonic love Sandra. Mehdi's parents are fun, specially his father as he tries to be "Obi-wan Kenobi" to his son, one of the genuine fun moments of the film (last episode).
There are golden cylinders, some magic dice, a griffin, a fresco with a shining blue light, they all have clues...
Music is fine, very catchy, which is good for a TV series. Of course the palaces, aerial views and landscapes are beautiful.
Overall, don't expect much, and if possible, don't analyze it, and it will give you some pleasant moments. Not bad for a TV series, I guess.
Probably the most likable character is the most unlikely: "Commissaire Anne Renard" (surname!). Fun, with a strong accent, and witty, she's the only believable character, the "reality check" or necessary counterweight to all the likable heroes. The "Judas brotherhood" are not really fearful. Although very powerful, they seem to kill mainly with some 3-sided stars, much like the "ninja stars" that we used to see in 80's "ninja" B movies. And when they shoot their posh guns, they seem to be really bad shots :).
Louise Monot seems to be in about half of the movie, so it's probably a love/ hate situation: whether you liker or not her "screen presence" probably has a lot to do with how you like the series. I like her, but not the film, thou :).
Olivier Royal is a perfect hero for teenagers: handsome, elegant, caring and extremely patient with Estelle, can dispatch enemies even without guns and seemingly without doing any effort on his part. A born hero :). Again, his surname has a lot of significance.
Stunning violinist Valeria Cavalli is Sandra, a righteous wife, 2nd wife of Estelle's dad. Blonde Nadine E. is rather the opposite. As such, she succeeds. I like her sneer at Estelle in episode 8: "For you, everything is black or white...". Mehdi and Gil are the happy gay couple, necessary for political correctness and well done by their very natural cast. Their script is a cliché of "gay people".
Swiss Marthe Keller, from "Le sanglot des Anges" (also for TV), plays an elegant oracle. Odette is an old grouchy baddie with a heart. David doesn't last long into Estelle's mind, so we won't deal with him. Joyce, Estelle's mum, is so unnatural I cannot say much about her either. Julien E., her dad, is a smart respectable surgeon that, as most characters, has his share of family secrets. Louis, her grandparent, is sweet if a bit maniac about the prophecy. Henry is a classical baddie, with a deep, husky voice to match his "L'homme de pouvoir" character. Also acted in the similar series, in similar roles: "Le silence de l'épervier" and "Petits meurtres en famille" (A. Christie's remake), but this is slightly better, more entertaining at least. He did some Chabrol and also was in "Cyrano", mind you. Nadège is hateable, as the "girl in the red dress who appears all the time like a phantom". Sylvain Epstein, on the contrary, is a noble character full of good feelings, and who doesn't profit from the situation to bed his platonic love Sandra. Mehdi's parents are fun, specially his father as he tries to be "Obi-wan Kenobi" to his son, one of the genuine fun moments of the film (last episode).
There are golden cylinders, some magic dice, a griffin, a fresco with a shining blue light, they all have clues...
Music is fine, very catchy, which is good for a TV series. Of course the palaces, aerial views and landscapes are beautiful.
Overall, don't expect much, and if possible, don't analyze it, and it will give you some pleasant moments. Not bad for a TV series, I guess.