The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan

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)

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)

A swashbuckling, raucous and modern adaptation of Dumas' classic. More emphasis is placed on the action scenes, which are gritty, dynamic, and with great choreography. There have been so many versions of “The Three Musketeers” that I'm not even sure how it was supposed to be done, but the snipers in the church is a very good sequence. Eva Green is incredible as Milady, and overall it's a very strong cast. The ending is outrageously open and I'm looking forward to the second one. (28/04/2024)

The concept of an old-school adventure film, the kind that is no longer in vogue today. This is Dumas to the core. Admittedly, in terms of style, it's dirtier and grittier than usual, with a few (not bad at all) subplots of its own, but otherwise it's exactly what you'd want from a modern adaptation of a classic. The production design, the locations, the costumes, the choreography of the single take action, the pacing, the characters, everything is so classic Three Musketeers that is almost surprising. I expected (or rather feared) a greater mincing of the source material in a (post)modern package. As soon as I left the cinema I immediately looked to see when the second part would come, and sadly, it isn’t until the end of the year. (15/04/2023)

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. (10/04/2023)