Product: The Musketeer (2001)
Rating: 1.0
Insomnia Remedy
My expectations for this movie were vague. I'd never heard of star Justin Chambers (I now know why), but I was familiar with director Peter Hyams and liked his "Capricorn One" and "Outland", so I figured what the heck.What the heck, indeed.This movie was awful. Justin Chambers cannot act. (I've never understood the allure of the cherubic Mena Suvari either.) Not that acting chops could've saved the script. I was willing to give the "twist" - Hong Kong-style hijinks in 17th c. France - a chance, but even that didn't work. The fact that the fight sequences were so contrived wasn't the worst of it. It's the fact that they were photographed so badly and the faces of the "actors" were nearly always in shadow. I realized the only reason I continued watching was to see Catherine Deneuve, who didn't have a lot to work with either, but still managed to be her usual luminous self.What I don't get is how the director of two of my personal favorites managed to churn out this dust-bunny of a movie. Was he happy with the way it turned out? Did he notice that his lead couldn't act? Did he care? ("Sean Connery? Bah! Get me that Chambers kid!")It also put me to sleep. Zonked me right out. And I wasn't tired. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. "The Musketeer" should've been called "The Ambien".Save your time and money (as the studio that released this should've done) and avoid this lackluster swashbuckler.