The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan

Finally, a properly filmed legend. Although not so heavyweight in terms of the actors' names, it can't compare with the 90s version, but actually in everything else it does and in many parameters it even surpasses it. This new remake is much less of a likeable pulp flick and much more of a gritty, dark film of intrigue with excellent sets and fantastically shot action, but there's very little of that so far and that's a shame. Only a fraction of films in French production have this kind of bold handheld camerawork and editing. It's expected that the sequel will be suitably epic and live up to expectations, as many fans are duly hyped after the first installment, and quite rightly so. PS: Captain Rochefort is missing! (15/10/2023)

This is my third encounter with the immortal classic after The Man in the Iron Mask from the 1990 and the somewhat overdone Paul W.S. Anderson adaptation, but I have never read the book, so I can't blame filmmakers for their faithfulness to the source material or lack thereof. After watching this film, however, and considering that the story of The Three Musketeers is split into two films, you can sense that they took care in this regard. As this is a notorious story, the film offers no big plot surprises, but it does offer solid adventure full of action, intrigue and well done fights – the "bloody" wedding or the chase on the cliffs really had some serious moments. I'm curious to see what the sequel will bring, which will give more space to Eva Green, who is perfect in these demonic creatures. (14/04/2023)

This successful adaptation of Dumas's classic slightly updates the famous story and relies on great action scenes, beautiful sets and a charismatic cast. It completely omits humour and plays on a serious note, and it mostly works very well. Unfortunately, Martin Bourboulon doesn't quite manage to sell the more intimate scenes and dialogue, and towards the end it feels like he's bitten off too big a bite; the finale, however impressive, is a bit too much. But despite these problems, this is a highly above-average adventure flick straddling the line between old-school and modern filmmaking. (11/04/2023)

Gone are the saturated colors and boisterous choreography of Lester’s classic version. Bourboulon has his protagonists rooting around in the dirt and mud, D'Artagnan literally in the first scene. The humor is also gone, but that doesn’t mean that the trio, which is actually a quartet, lacks distinctive wit and charm. The cast is good, the sets are properly shabby, the costumes are dirty and the plot is rife with intrigues. The deviations from Dumas are defensible and it’s apparent that this new adaptation wants to bring more behind-the-scenes scheming into play and somewhat sideline the love motifs, which is fine. It’s a shame that some of the plot shortcuts have slightly confused logic, but after a few doubts about whether all that Protestant fun below Paris is only a needless digression, the feeling that everything can be made into an excellent spectacle in the sequel ultimately wins out. In the end, I'm bothered only by minor issues with the film, mainly the fact that Richelieu is an expressionless character. But everything else works. The one-shot action replaced the playful choreography with physicality and the musketeers soon settle into it.  A very respectable contribution to the Dumas canon! (18/04/2023)

Ever since I first read the book, I found myself pondering why those skilled swordsmen were dubbed musketeers, but it never piqued my curiosity enough to delve into it. I now understand the stark contrast between a musketeer and a Royal Musketeer, which evolved significantly over time, with the Royal Musketeers eventually forming the cavalry guard in the 18th century. This revelation cleared up a slew of misconceptions for me, and had the creators opted for flintlock muskets over matchlock, I might have given them five stars out of sheer enthusiasm. Alas, they missed the mark by a whole century. While I'm unsure if Alexandre Dumas had Huguenot roots, it's undeniable that Cardinal Richelieu's portrayal as a villain contrasts sharply with his historical collaboration with Louis XIII, which proved pivotal for France (and earned gratitude from a multitude of Huguenots in the captured La Rochelle). It's a rare instance where I find myself defending a Catholic cardinal... Setting aside the fact that the source material is pure fiction and poor Queen Anne is portrayed as some sort of party girl, the creators did justice to the tale as best they could. Having witnessed numerous adaptations of this story, I must confess that today's experience resonated most with me. D'Artagnan emerged as an ambitious young man not only striving for a position as a Royal Musketeer but with clear ambitions for an Algiers invasion. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and eagerly await a sequel. / Lesson learned: Belly flopping from the White Cliffs of Dover might not be the brightest idea. 4*+ (14/11/2023)