The Three Musketeers - Part I: D'Artagnan

This film offers a respectable take on the classic tale with commendable performances and a certain charm. The cast brings energy and charisma to their roles, capturing the spirit of the legendary musketeers. The camaraderie between the leads is palpable and adds a lot of enjoyment to the film.

However, there are a few issues that hinder the overall experience. The cinematography, while ambitious, often leans towards being too dark, making some scenes difficult to see clearly. This choice detracts from the visual appeal and can be frustrating during key moments. Additionally, the pacing of the film is somewhat slow, with certain segments dragging on longer than necessary, which affects the film's momentum.

Despite these drawbacks, The Three Musketeers is an entertaining watch with solid performances and a faithful adaptation of the classic story. It may not be perfect, but it provides an enjoyable take on the swashbuckling adventures of the iconic trio.

Cloak and dagger films are certainly not the hottest trend at the moment, in fact they haven't been for ages. But that doesn't mean that the genre is unappealing, and certainly not this high-quality production. A high budget, an appropriately fantastic set, an authentic look, charismatic actors in the mood to play, a brisk production, likeable or much-hated stereotypes, humour in the right place - all the ingredients are properly mixed here. The interpretation of the novel is very independent, which is certainly the right approach given the abundance of film adaptations already available. And it is European cinema! So support and watch it all, part 2 will follow soon.

Only the French could come up with a swashbuckling boy's own adventure where the hero saves the day by covering up adultery, but I'm glad they did.

Whilst none of the versions of this come close to the Richard Lester classic (well, maybe Dog Tanian) this one is very good indeed.

The colour palette is the modern brown and grimy one we've gotten used to from the more recent Bond movies, which is quite appropriate since Eva Green features as the duplicitous Milady, will, why break the habit of a lifetime. She's probably the best one to play the part since Faye Dunaway, and I look forward to seeing more of her in the sequel, which is named after her character.

Anyway this is a lot of fun you'll care about the characters, and there is a breathtaking cliff edge horse chase. True, you'll miss Roy Kinnear's mumbling asides but there is plenty to enjoy here.

Like a metaphor to this exquisite quote from the movie, a menace from the shadows disrupts the Kingdom of France, in spite of all the efforts to maintain it afloat...

The story of The Three Musketeers has been told and retold numerous times, and this movie offers a very nicely balanced blend of tones... You feel the gravitas and heaviness of the situation, while also following our different protagonists that all bring this tasty feeling of adventure and historical fresco ; it is filled with a clever humor, powerful and intense dramatic scenes, dillemas ; espionage, conspiracies and manipulation that punctuate the story and give the film its thickness & richness ; but there also is a cute little romance that brings a sweet levity to the piece.

All of this is majestically served by a plethoric cast, the cream of French acting. They all fit their characters perfectly, and every character offers rich layers and fills certain specific archetypes useful each in the part they play for the overarching storyline... There is this greater "scheme" and at its heart there is this "hero journey"...

A storyline that's convoluted while being easy to read and process, because well built through the various steps of the evolution of the narrative.

The entire piece is beautifully staged (certain action bits might look a lil muddled/shaky here and there, but everything is prettily choreographed all along)... The grain of the image, its texture, the use of light, the textures, and the close-ups ; it all highlights the actors' performance and pleasantly contributes to our immersion into the various intrigues and themes of the story...

A last mention and praise to the music score, which is grandiose and perfectly orchestrated ; often epic, silky at times, and simply subtle when needed... Superb composition.

Overall, the quality of all the ingredients as well as the final product are excellent, and the great production value is the cherry on top of the cake.

A very good movie which won't leave you indifferent and will probably be remembered beautifully.

Great work of art.

I will start by saying I'm a huge long time fan of Dumas and the books.

I have basically not liked any adaptations of it before.

I have loved this. It is a mix of exactly the book, and not the book at all. The atmosphere is dark, the action is excellent, I was never bored. It is easy to follow even if you don't know French history, but it is not dumbed down either.

The cast (as per real history and the novel) is FANTASTIC. The story is modernised and completely over the top which corresponds totally to the spirit of Dumas, if not to the actual book (it was way over the top for its time as well) .

You come out of there like you did as a child after watching a swashbuckling movie with Errol Flynn.

My brother cheered loudly like a child, a girl in the audience was crying, all in all, a roaring success in the vein of the very old action movies, but completely modernised with a certain dark steampunk flair.

Highly highly recommend. Especially with a good screen and sound which are worth it.