Product: The Musketeer (2001)
Rating: 3.0
"You have an interesting fighting style."
Fourteen years after his parents were murdered D'Artagnan arrives in Paris to pursue his dream of becoming a King's Royal Musketeer. That sentence alone should cue readers of Alexander Dumas's THE THREE MUSKETEERS that this film is very much a loose adaptation. There are perhaps three truly extreme departures. The presence of the menacing Febre (Tim Roth). The absence of Milady de Winter. And D'Artagnan's fighting style which is a more dynamic sort of fencing as done by Hong Kong cinema. Purists will certainly be up in arms. I ain't mad at them.And yet some things remain the same. Young D'Artagnan is still dashing and daring and a fierce stickler for honor. The Musketeers are still fiercely loyal to the King, in fact, so loyal that they've fallen out of favor, what with the crafty Cardinal Richelieu pulling political strings, widening his sphere of influence while sapping the King's power base. In Paris D'Artagnan meets up with what's left of the Musketeers, and these are a pretty slovenly lot of swordsmen. Whoever wrote the screenplay plays fast and loose with the source material. Maybe he only read the cliff notes. D'Artagnan still romances the Queen's lovely chamber maid (a listless Mena Suvari). There's still that intrigue with Lord Buckingham and a secret mission for the Queen. This time, though, the Queen (Catherine Deneuve) herself goes along for the ride, masquerading as a peasant woman.You scan the credits and you may notice Catherine Deneuve, Stephen Rea, and Tim Roth's names scrolling up. That's an exalted supporting cast, except that, really, only Tim Roth makes an impression as the skeevy eye-patched Febre. Roth really does excel at oozing sheer malice (just check out ROB ROY). However, Stephen Rea, who's best at roles in which he can internalize, isn't quite a showy enough presence to pass as Richelieu. And I guess they got it right with titling the film THE MUSKETEER, because the story hones in on D'Artagnan, almost to the exclusion of his fellow Musketeers. Aramis, Athos and Porthos, even more than ever, are reduced to glorified sidekick status. I did enjoy Nick Moran as Aramis, though.The many moments of derring-do are gratifying, and there's a sense that the story is sacrificed in service of the hard-charging action. I don't know how much of his own stunts were performed by lead actor Justin Chambers. I'm thinking not many, but these are still pretty astonishing stunts. Gene Kelly, when he played D'Artagnan in 1948, performed some excellent tumbling while dueling but his version never approached the sheer athleticism and dazzle of this D'Artagnan. Justin Chambers (or his stunt double) is a whirling dervish, swordfighting with flair and fury, and executing some frenetic gymnastics. As one character observes to D'Artagnan: "You have an interesting fighting style." Except I'm fairly certain fencing in 17th century France didn't involve wire work.Still, Gene Kelly's THE THREE MUSKETEERS is loads better than this one. Heck, even the Charlie Sheen version was better. And for the best film adaptation, you need to get your hands on Richard Lester's THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973). Regarding THE MUSKETEER, see it, if you must, for the cool fighty fights and maybe for the bits of snark peppered throughout. 2.5 stars out of 5 for this one.