A vague historical background :La Fronde. Series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, during the minority of Louis XIV. The Fronde comes from the name for the "sling" of a children's game played in the streets of Paris in defiance of civil authorities. It's true that Gaston D'Orléans ,who had been the heir apparent for Anne D'autriche's children had been a long time coming ,played a prominent part in these conflicts but he tried to calm people down.
Keeping from Dumas nothing but the proper nouns and only two musketeers (D'Artagnan and Porthos ),it's the umpteenth story of the wicked uncle who wants to latch onto his sweet niece' s fortune to help the rebels, so as to put Gaston D'Orléans on the throne and to reign in his shadow ; he goes as far as to have the damsel tortured !Georges Marchal
is a good villain ,but George Nader ,although he wields the sword with gusto, is not convincing as D'Artagnan, a character who's French to the core ; brunette Magali Noel is the best of the two heroines ,but her friend is totally bland and is hardly moving when the torturer breaks her hand.
The film may possess appeal for viewers who enjoy duels but the plot is thin and poor ; and in this screenplay ,the musketeers make friends with the Cardinal De Richelieu ....who allows a duel "when it's an experiment"!
