The Three Musketeers

This was my first experience with „The Three Musketeers“ in movies as I watched it in cinema as a child. Because of this take my rating with a grain of salt as I can not out-rule nostalgia influence. The Three Musketeers is a timeless classic from Alexandre Dumas. It is one of the books anyone has at least heard of. Like Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, King Arthur and many other classics it is a story that will always be readapted from time to time. This adaptation made more deviations from the source but is entertaining and has a great cast of actors. I enjoyed it quite a lot. It is the story of young d’Artagnan who went to Paris to fulfill his dream of becoming a Musketeer who are the Kings personal guard. Because he is inexperienced and a bit hot headed he ended dueling with 3 Musketeers. Meanwhile Cardinal Richelieu who is the Kings Minister and unopposed has an opportunity to increase his influence even further with a scheme. I end it here to avoid spoilers. Like I said the story works well and it is a timeless adventure tale. It is a story of friendship, adventure, fighting against overcoming a much more powerful enemy and a scheme that is incredibly dangerous. It is basically a blueprint for movies. Then we have the cast and we got a lot of talented actors. Chris O’Donnel plays d’Artagnan and I think he is as good as believable. The three Musketeers are played by Charlie Sheen as Aramis, Kiefer Sutherland as Athos and Oliver Platt as Porthos. A good trio. Impressive was Tim Curry as Cardinal Richelieu, Michael Wincott as Rochefort was excellent and Rebecca De Mornay impressed me also as Milady de Winter. A truly good cast of actors and also a reason why I enjoyed the movie. The sets, costumes and visuals create a good atmosphere for the movie while the soundtrack is also fitting. Overall a good movie and entertaining but not awesome or mind-blowing. A 8/10 is valid for me. Bonus knowledge: Did you know that in the books Rochefort and d'Artagnan became friends after dueling many times after the events? They slowly start to like each other and bonded as they left the past behind them. So each time you see d’Artagnan kill Rochfort in movies know that his book counterpart would avenge him and kill movie d’Artagnan.

"The Three Musketeers" are one of the fiction books most adapted to cinema. This is another adaptation to add to the extensive list and, despite not being the best, it is one of the best that has been made in recent years (at least, the ones I have seen so far). More serious than the "classic slapstick" of the Seventies, it is more historically accurate than the 2011 blockbuster, despite remaining an adventure and having many moments where historical rigor is, as it were, forgotten in a corner. This is particularly true of the way in which almost all characters behave and act, and which has much more to do with the 20th century than with the 17th. As I said, it is a flawed film. The cast is quite good, overall. It does not provide us with an interpretive show, but does what is necessary to present a good work. Chris O'Donnell was satisfactory, he looks young and energetic enough for the character, and he looks like the best D'Artagnan of the three films I've seen so far (1973, 2011 and this one). Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and, especially, Oliver Platt, are very effective, fun and energetic as Musketeers. Rebecca DeMornay is really beautiful and made the most of her physical talents and her magnificent hair in giving life to the beautiful and dangerous Milady. Gabrielle Anwar and Hugh O'Connor are effective as king and queen, but sometimes they seem lukewarm and devoid of personality. In the negative, I would highlight Tim Curry's poor interpretation of Richelieu. Despite the good lines and dialogues, he is histrionic and truly demonized the character. Michael Wincott also looks more dark and diabolical than he should be, but he doesn't sound too exaggerated. Technically, it is a film that is within the standard of the adventure films of the Nineties. It has an unoriginal cinematography, but the sets and costumes seem satisfactory. The filming locations were very well selected and include the Imperial Palace in Vienna and the Liechtenstein Castle. The visual and special effects play their part and the fight and action scenes were quite well done, although they didn't seem genuine. Michael Kamen leaves us with a good soundtrack, appropriately epic and grand.