Product: The Musketeer (2001)
Rating: 3.0
Not Bad, Not Bad At All...
Cardinal Richelieu (Stephen Rea), in his quest to become the premier power in France, disbands the king's musketeers and does his best to wipe them out, discretely, of course. One of the musketeers killed was D'Artagnan's (Justin Chambers) father and D'Artagnan vows to avenge his father's death and kill the man in black (Tim Roth). D'Artagnan grows up and begins his quest for vengeance by traveling to Paris and contacting the musketeers. Unfortunately, he fails his test and instead finds himself aiding the Queen (Catherine Deneuve) in a desperate attempt to avoid war with Great Britain. Along the way, D'Artagnan falls in love with Francesca bon Ansau (Mena Suvari) and gradually earns the respect of the musketeers.I quite enjoyed this version of the Three Musketeers, but I would have to agree with other reviewers in that it is not the best version that I have seen. The strength of this movie is the amazing fighting sequences. Whether it is a barroom brawl with the fighters dancing over barrels, an attempt to take over the Queen's coach that leaps from coach to horse to ground, or a winner take all fight on ropes and ladders, the fighting sequences are fresh, original and oftentimes, simply amazing. The costumes and scenery were gorgeous, with the director Peter Hymans' fabulous use of natural light to give the whole film a faded, sepia toned look that really suited the time period. The supporting cast was quite good, including a deliciously evil man in black played by Tim Roth and an understated, yet humorous musketeer trio played by Nick Moran (Aramis), Steven Spiers (Porthos) and Jan Gregor Kremp (Athos). The absolute worst part of the film was Justin Chambers, who, unfortunately played D'Artagnan and was in just about every scene. It is true that Justin, a ex-Calvin Klein model, is quite beautiful, at least he is without that ridiculous long hair that he sported in the film, and it it also true that he is quite athletic and did a fine job on his stunt work, but, sadly, he cannot act and he cannot speak French. This is a major problem in the film and drags the whole work down. With a decent actor in the lead role, this could have been a very memorable version of a classic.