OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009)

OSS 117: Lost in Rio is a deliriously stylish love letter to 1960s spy cinema that also knows exactly how ridiculous that era could be, and it gets its biggest laughs by letting the genre’s swagger trip over its own ego. Michel Hazanavicius stages the action with crisp, colorful retro elegance, while Jean Dujardin plays Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath like a walking monument to self-confidence—charming, capable, and spectacularly oblivious—so every scene becomes a small comedy of manners with a gunshot punchline. The vibe is breezy, sun-soaked, and mischievous, mixing globe-trotting intrigue with impeccable comic timing and art-direction that’s half postcard, half parody. If you enjoy smart, affectionate lampooning and don’t mind some period-accurate sexism/racism being skewered for laughs (plus a bit of nudity and Nazi imagery), this is the kind of comedy that makes you grin at how expertly it’s put together.

OSS 117: Lost in Rio is clearly aiming to be a glossy, retro Bond pastiche where the joke is that the hero is a charming idiot trapped in his own outdated, chauvinistic worldview, and Jean Dujardin still sells that swagger with real comic control. The problem is the sequel leans hard on the same shtick and running gags, so if you’re not already laughing early, the pacing can start to feel like you’re watching the film tread water between set pieces. The plot hops from Nazis to spies to Mossad to assorted brawls in a way that can feel less like escalating intrigue and more like loosely connected sketches. If you want a tighter crime-action comedy or you’re sensitive to humor built around racism/sexism played for satire, this may grate; if you enjoyed the first film and just want more sun-drenched silliness with occasional big laughs and period style, it’ll still do the job.