Suske en Wiske: De duistere diamant (2004) Poster

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6/10
OK'ish; nice to rent once in the video store.
Maedhros351 January 2005
I think they did a nice try at filming an episode of the (in the Dutch language area) famous comic series "Suske en Wiske", but perhaps tried to stay too close to the scenes in the comic itself, which might be hard to film.

On the positive side there is the scenery: they picked real nice locations for the films, giving it a nice atmosphere. Suske and Wiske are played quite decent. Wiske appears a bit older than you would expect from the comic books. As said, they tried to stay very close to the comic itself, which makes a nice story.

A definitive downside is the actor(!) playing Tante Sidionia. Why they casted a man to play this female role may remain a mystery, but a man speaking in falsetto utterly fails in putting anything other than a weak parody on the screen.

Another downside is the quality of the action scenes, which appear clumsy.

It's a nice movie to rent and watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon with the kids.
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6/10
For the fans only!
Ryu_Darkwood31 July 2005
I think it's impossible to make a truly good movie, enjoyable for both children and adults, of the suske and wiske-comic books. The stories of this happy duo are just not cut out to be played by real actors of flesh and blood. Characters such as Lambik, Aunt Sidonia or Professor Barabas are funny in the comics, but if real actors play them they are dumb, irritating and slightly childish. This being said, I must add that the movie also has its good points. It does have that same nice atmosphere that marks the comic books and for the fans it's nice to see the universe of S&W come to live. And it has fair special-effects for a Belgian/Dutch product. Okay, it doesn't have the quality of the Harry Potter-movies, but that level simply is unreachable.

I'd recommend this movie to the real hardcore S&W-fans, the rest of the movie lovers shouldn't even try it.
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5/10
Badly directed of in fact not a bad story
eric-suykens16 January 2006
Yesterday I saw this movie on DVD.

First thing that I've noticed: this story is completely incomprehensible if you did not read the comic-book! The story is told in a very amateurish way, which makes it sometimes difficult to follow. Of course: if you have read the book, you can fill in the missing parts. If you haven't read the book: good luck in trying to understand the story.

Or let's say the details in the story.

This is really a pity since the actors are doing a great job. Especially Stany Crets as Jerommeke is great!

Another complaint: I have never seen such unprofessional rubbish on a DVD as extra. Not much extra on the DVD, only the making of. first 10 minutes are great and you can have a look behind the scenes. But then you as spectator are treated on a movie-clip which I only can describe as some kind of camcorder record: a 3 minutes shot of a door ?? Shots filmed when the camera was supposed to be switched off (so, you see floor and ceiling). This made my DVD experience quite special I must see ;-)

conclusion: the actors did a great job, even the special effects and decors were OK. Unfortunately a bad director and bad cut totally kills this movie experience. If you have the DVD there is an unforgettable "extra" which is so bad, one have to see it to believe it.
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4/10
Not sure it was worth trying this
jean-no19 March 2006
I know "Suske en Wiske" as "Bob et Bobette". My father used to love that comic series, that's how I knew it ("Bob et Bobette" are quite unknown in France). It is not an usual comic book : it is fun, it is full of ideas, it comes with its own rules, it is a whole universes in itself (Like Tezuka Osamu's mangas for instance). Therefore, filming that in live action can seem a foolish project, it requires a lot of things : a very special casting, much money for the special effects, a great cinematography and a good director. Well... The casting is quite okay. Sidonie is played by a man, why not (the voice could have been more feminine). Lambique, well, I'm not sure of the actor. Jerome is okay. Bob and Bobette are okay too, but Bobette seems older than Bob and she has too much breast. The image is poor, we don't understand all the actions, it is not very good. The directing and the editing are a little bit outdated, it is not far from the Benny Hill Show... Therefore, I'll get back to the books, this movie maybe shouldn't have been done. Maybe the very little kids can find some fun here.

As somebody already told it here, the DVD's bonus is terrible : slow and uninteresting, it mostly shows that a German/belgian production of that kind can not be really professional as other comics-based movies of the past decade, from the US (Spiderman, Xmen, Hulk, yes, but also older movies like Popeye or Annie) and even from France (Asterix).
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The kids should watch it!
Glitter-Greet8 August 2004
A famous comic, some famous Flemish names and a lot of promotion. A guaranteed good movie or not…? People said it's a great movie, others say it sucked and IMDb gives it a 5.7. We'll see about that.

Every Flemish citizen and even furthermore everybody knows Suske and Wiske from the comic books. So a movie couldn't last, right? But the first thought that filled my head says: 'What did they do to Stany Crets?' This cute guy, who plays Jerom, opens the film by shouting he's not coming. Stany Crets isn't the only guy they messed up; everybody meet Frank Focketyn, Dirk Roofthooft and Peter van den Begin. But I know, that's supposed to be in this film and after a while you get used to it. It's actually kind off cool to see those big people like that. All dressed up like Willy Vandersteen, who was responsible for the comic books, meant it. The most realistic one is the magician, played by Daan Hugeart. His make-up and clothes are perfect and well, it's the best costume to end with.

The movie starts straight away with mystery and I think that's good. It keeps people awake and alert for what's coming up. This a typical child movie, though. The actors – most of them are supposed to be pretty good – seemed to lost their talents and de special effects aren't always that good, but in the end: children won't mind. I'm sure the like this movie, but the real film fans should watch out: if you wane see a really good Flemish movie, please leave this one for a while, and try something as 'De Zaak Alzheimer'…

Anyway, I enjoyed the film after all. The length of the film is just 1,5h, but that's just long enough not to get bored. The kids should watch it!
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5/10
The question remains, should a comic like this be done in Live action
robinhio84_20 July 2022
It has been so many years since the release of this film, so it is time to give this movie an unbiased view. And honestly it is cool that there is a film. But you will note very quickly that trying to cater to a VERY young crowd. Which takes away from the story and also not catering to a wise audience. Adult themes are watered down. It would have been better to focus on 8-14. Back in the day there were puppet interpretations of the stories and that worked fine for all ages.

But let's begin, from the get go, aunt Sidonia is unbearable she is just an annoying fill character. And whilst in the series she is bit odd, here she doesn't have a role at all, just being weird... Lambic also is just a caricature of himself. Instead of a foolish middle aged man. Here at the beginning he is just a fool.

The film does pick up after 7min of intro. And after 20mins one famous character is introduced which picks up the story.

Summary, it's an OK watch for the fans. A sequel would do well with a bit more budget and aunt Sidonia please be played by a woman and please do Schanulleke right, her look was an utter mess. How easy is it to create her... Jerome is going to be tough to have in a future film, but there is one joke where is running to charge power and it really had me laughing out loud.

WHO AM I (background on the reviewer) So as a kid born in 1984 this was my #1 favourite comic. I own 150+ stories of the main series (including a lot of special editions) and even though the stories weren't as cool in the last 15 years (when they made the themes current and less fairytale) Suske and Wiske will always be special to me. Unfortunately the series made me stop reading when they started to reduce the story back in amount of pages. The spirit seemed gone. But I saw the Tintin movie and it brought to watch this movie.
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7/10
A nice kids movie
tvalstar9916 December 2004
When you start seeing this movie, remember: It's a kids movie

The actors are dressed up just as in the comics accept for the strange noses or 6 strings of hair like Lambik. This gives a familiar feeling and must let the viewers feel comfortable.

The actors do their best and I got the feeling they enjoyed themselves. The comic they followed to make this movie isn't the best or the most spectacular one in the series, but is one of the easiest to film because it's a story on itself and doesn't refer to things that have passed in other Suske en Wiske comics.

Because this film is a kids film, just like the comics are for kids, the story is kept simple and has a fast opening where Wiske immediately starts to suspect there is something going on. I as a 24 year old enjoyed this film nonetheless. It has its funny moments and seeing Barabas and Teletijdmachine as well as the jeep where they always use too travel with in the comics gave me a nostalgic feeling. It's good they didn't change too much on the environment, characters and objects. The 1,5 hour is just long enough to don't get bored.

I think the kids will enjoy this film, especially if they are familiar with the comics.
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6/10
How do you like thém Apples ....... ~-^
The_Melancholic_Alcoholic17 November 2007
Okay, so the story was sorta iffy, and the acting so-so.

The casting of Suske and Lambik was on the edge.

Jeroms chest could easily have been simulated much better with foam or something, and he didn't have his eyes closed as he has in the books! But still ... the overall effort was very endearing.

But ... the special effects were way cool for such limited funds.

But ... Tante Sidonie's portrayal by a man turned out to be one of the good finds of this film, a gem really.

And OF COURSE, Wiske was surprisingly bumpy, and she didn't only have very ... nice (?) apples, but also something more, albeit two tiny tiny somethings .... ^-^ '-^ Her face DID, however, look exactly like the one in the book. She was clearly cast because of her likeness with the book Wiske.
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9/10
OK for fans, watchable for others
vidurr6661 July 2008
I saw this movie at the theater when it was released. I liked it all the way, but I can imagine some might not have liked it at all.

First of all, if you've never read a S&W-comic you may have a hard time getting into the characters. They all have their own little singularities which have grown during the years (remeber this is a comic that has been published for over 60 years now) and may seem a bit awkward to some.

Secondly, the dialogues and especially the humor is typically Flemish, which might be even harder to get into by foreigners.

Thirdly, the costumes are exact copies of the costumes used in the comic. Even though most of the story is set in the middle-ages, a lot of costumes may seem outdated because of the fact that this movie is based on an episode that was released in 1958.

And lastly, this is a kids-movie. If you rent/buy and expect a cool transformation of the story into an epic movie... too bad. This was meant for kids, so you should watch it as a kids-movie.

So, as a fan of the S&W comics I am very pleased with this movie (which is why I gave it a 9). This is exactly how a fan wants the story to be retold as a movie. If you're not a fan, try it. Maybe you'll be bitten by the virus too.
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7/10
Very good adaptation of a childhood comic !
stephane-b-197113 May 2016
Good day !

I just just finished minutes ago my second or third screening of this picture.

As a french reader, I know the series as Bob et Bobette. I have not read any episodes in many years but still, I could recognize each character easily.

The story is not that fantastic but like someone said,it was probably chosen because easy to put on the screen. As for the characters, I am more than pleased on what I saw on the screen.

Obviously, great care have been put into the casting as the actors are quite similar to the heroes they represent. Impossible to confuse who is who ! Simply amazing ! Their mannerisms, facial expressions, strange habits...etc have not been forgotten. For example, Lambique(Lambik) lighting a candle, to later realize in great pain that it was his own thumb ! Hilarious !

Of course, you need to be a great fan of the series to truly appreciate it for what it was. Random viewers won't get many jokes and essence of several characters.

Thumbs-up to everyone involved in the film !
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