Product: The Musketeer (2001)
Rating: 3.0
Musketeer is the "Attack of the Clones" of swashbucklers....
...in many ways. Just like Lucas' epic, this movie has many strengths, including beautiful costumes and scenery, a nice score, some great action scenes, and a fine supporting cast. But it also has similar flaws: two miscast leads with limited acting ability, and poorly written and directed dialogue throughout. There's just no chemistry on screen between the hero and heroine, and so much of the dialogue sounds choppy, anachronistic, overly formal and unnatural. That being said, this is an absolutely GORGEOUS movie to look at. The conscious use of subdued, natural lighting throughout makes you feel like you've stepped right into a 16th century Dutch painting. Because of that sparse lighting, I'm sure this movie wouldn't look that good on VHS, but on DVD, this nice crisp anamorphic print looks wonderful, especially on a widescreen TV. The set designs and costumes are superb, and the lush cinematography of both urban and rural landscapes is breathtaking. As far as the action scenes, well, it's an interesting experiment at mixing Hong Kong action with traditional Western swashbucklers. A couple of the action scenes are fantastic, particularly the thrilling, creative swordfight on the ropes hanging down from the castle tower---wonderfully imaginative and well-filmed. Then again, the final ladder scene is completely ripped off from Once Upon a Time in China, and there are a couple places in the movie where the hero performs some slightly wire-assisted leaps, and those really just look out of place. Like Attack of the Clones or Phantom Menace, this movie will always be a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I can't say it's a great movie overall, but there were undeniably some VERY talented people involved in making this movie.