Review: Micmacs (12A)***

Another crazily inventive fairytale from Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Micmacs possesses more gags than you can shake a stick at and far too many to catch in one showing.

At the heart of this wacky adventure is a skewed desire for revenge on the arms dealers who grow rich on death and destruction – and why not? Comedy, sex, acrobatics and a hardy band of oddballs provide the backdrop for Bazil's quest as he first locates and then targets the men who almost brought about his downfall.

Of course, he had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – serving in a video store when he was hit by a stray round fired by a robber. But the origins of his ire don't matter; instead it's the way he slowly builds a mini army and launches a campaign to set rival weapons manufacturers against one another.

Jeunet consistently surprises with his approach to comedy and Micmacs proves he is a master of the delicious ensemble gagfest.

As well as Boon this one features previous repertory actors like Dominique Pinon alongside a gallery of other marvellous misfits.

The dubious villains are brought to reptilian life by Andr Dussollier and Nicholas Mari and neither is able to grasp what is occurring to them, their empires and their billions.

With a style straight out of Keaton and Chaplin and laced with black humour, this is a continuously inventive, laugh-out-loud funny and hugely entertaining portrait of how sometimes life has to deal a rough hand before it gets better.

A film that revels in its gallery of grotesques, Micmacs is a quirky return to form by a director who remains a unique force in filmmaking. Slapstick exists alongside a none-too-subtle message. Nonetheless it's the slapstick, tics and shtick that make this one a madcap movie to savour.