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New 'Panther' is prequel to 1st one

February 14, 2006

Shawn Levy's "The Pink Panther" has been billed as a prequel to the 1963 original, but it's more of a separate story. Its only prequel element is an explanation of how such a bumbling, oblivious police officer came to be an inspector.

Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin) is a detective in a small French town. He is brought to Paris by Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) to work on a high-profile case. Dreyfus puts Clouseau in charge of the murder of a famous soccer coach and owner of the Pink Panther diamond. He must identity the murderer and find the diamond.

Clouseau is still the main character, and the Pink Panther diamond is still involved, but other than that this film bears no resemblance to the original.

The plot is almost non-existent, and the film centers around Clouseau, whose jokes aren't good enough to support the movie.

Martin is no Peter Sellers, but he isn't a bad Clouseau. The plot didn't give him much to work with, but he managed to become the character rather convincingly. Jean Reno plays Gendarme Gilbert Ponton, the assistant hired by Dreyfus to follow Clouseau around and report on his whereabouts. Reno's character provides the film with its only well-executed humor.

Martin and Reno are the only main characters doing any acting in the movie, but their skill isn't enough to save the film.

Kline's acting could have been simply mediocre, but it drops to horrible for his inability to maintain a French accent. Kline's accent is different during every scene, and eventually he seems to just drop it and speak without one.

The cinematography performs quite a feat: It manages to make Paris and New York City — two of the most exciting and visually stimulating cities — look drab.

The music doesn't make up for the lack of creative filming either. The original theme music is included in the movie. Unfortunately, Beyoncé Knowles dominates the rest of the movie's soundtrack.

Knowles has a major role in the movie that probably should have been a minor one. She plays a pop star in the film, and it's not a stretch to say she wasn't acting at all, but simply being herself.

The movie is filled with a lot of unnecessary and painful moments, but there are some clever parts scarcely distributed throughout. While in New York City, Clouseau and Ponton snub American hamburgers as any respectable Frenchman would. The first bite of a greasy burger changes their tune, and the scene cuts to slow motion as they savor their newfound love.

The movie also exhibits a clever parody of the James Bond films. The mini Bond movie included in "The Pink Panther" is the best part of the film. Clive Owen, a real-life rejected candidate to play Bond in the newest movie, is Agent 006. He runs into Clouseau at a casino and gives him credit for capturing the bandits.

Despite a few moments of glory, "The Pink Panther" falls short of the original. Go rent the 1963 version and save yourself some money.

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