How many times has "The Three Musketeers" been rehashed over and over again? A bazillion times at least, however this one is definitely a better cut of the different incarnations. I really didn't think that Dumas' story could be improved on until I saw this rendition.D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) leaves home in rural France to fulfill his ambition of becoming one of the king's elite guardsmen, the Musketeers. In Paris he meets Athos (Matthew MacFadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans)--- three of King Louis XIII's (Freddie Fox) finest swordsmen, who have been laid low by Milady De Winter's (Milla Jovovich) betrayal as a double agent. D'Artagnan rallies his new friends to foil Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) and the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) which plot to overthrow the monarchy and crown himself, Richelieu, king of France.
Others to round out the cast are Til Schweiger as Cagliostro, Juno Temple as the Queen, Mads Mikkelsen as Rochefort, Richelieu's General in charge of finding the Musketeers, James Corden as Planchet, servant of the Musketeers, Gabriella Wilde as Constance, D'Artagnan's love interest, and Carsten Norgaard as Jussac.
This was directed with such intensity coupled with just the right amount of humor by Paul W.S. Anderson ("Mortal Kombat" '95, "Event Horizon" '97, "Soldier" '98, "Resident Evil" '02, "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" '04, "Death Race" '08, "Resident Evil: Afterlife" '10). This is becoming a trademark of Anderson's which usually works for the type of films he's famous for. It was written by Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies based on Alexandre Dumas' novel "Les Trois Mousquetaires".
The production was lavishly done while not taking away from the principal story at hand. Even the visual effects by Mr. X,inc. and Rodeo FX were cool but, again, not totally over the top. This is a film all can enjoy. It's not totally overhauled as being 'original', but the ride will be just as fun.
Out of 4 stars: 3.5 Rated: PG-13 110min.
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