SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Kailansorac Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

BallWubba Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

Anssi Vartiainen A film loosely based on the third Musketeers novel by Alexander Dumas, who in turn adapted the story from actual historical events surrounding King Louis XIV and the eponymous masked prisoner of his. The story goes that France is struggling under the rule of its new king, Louis XIV, whose wars have lead to poverty, hunger and rioting. King has faced numerous assassination attempts already despite his young age and thus he entrusts his safety to D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers, all of them aging men already.Sounds exciting, right? Unfortunately, it is not. And I do not blame the actors for this. All of the main characters are played by talented actors, from Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan to Jeremy Irons as Aramis. They're just the right amount of over the top to fit the spirit of adventure, yet serious enough that they can sell the darker moments. Sure, Leonardo DiCaprio as King Louis is still in that younger phase of his career where you cannot take him that seriously, but he does a decent job here as well.No, it's the script that's at fault. Or perhaps the directing. The events themselves are exciting on paper, but most of the film fails to translate that excitement into actual events. Like a scene where Louis is hosting a grand ball while at the same time his opposers are working to kidnap him. Yet it drags. It's just dancing, Louis sitting on his throne, retiring for a moment, then coming back, sitting some more, people dancing. You don't feel the stakes at all. And the whole movie is like that. It should be thrilling, a great big adventure. But the pacing and the storytelling are both so incompetent that it doesn't feel like it.I'm also not a huge fan of the changes made to the novel, but they don't outright ruin the film. They also don't add all that much so I don't see the point of including them, but that's a nitpick.The film has its upsides. Visually it's very pleasing, all the musketeers are fun characters, if depicted a bit shallowly in the case of Porthos and Athos, the score is decent and even the story at least has elements of adventure in it. Personally I've seen much better adaptations, but if you're a fan of the actors, you might get something out of it.

juneebuggy I liked this one quite a bit, excellent in terms of a period piece, which I was in the mood to watch with beautiful sets and costumes and a swashbuckling adventure. I had seen this years before but couldn't remember any details about the movie itself, for some reason though I had never forgotten the fascinating story about the Man in the Iron Mask.I like how this opens by telling you that while "Some of this is legend at least this much is fact, when rioting citizens of France destroyed the Bastille they discovered within its records this mysterious entry; prisoner number 64389000-the man in the iron mask." so that there is an immediate element of mystery.The movie itself is a classic adventure film with romance, intrigue, lots of action, yup there's even sword fighting, and filled with a fantastic cast to portray the aging musketeers (Gabriel Byrne, Gérard Depardieu, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich) as they hatch their plan to overthrow the King. I enjoyed all of them but honestly Gérard Depardieu was hilarious here, and this has to be my all time favourite role of his... "I'm just a fat old fart with nothing to live for anymore. I'm going to hang myself, as soon as I'm sober." Leonardo DiCaprio does a decent enough job portraying two very different characters, that of the evil king Louis and also his good natured, tortured twin brother who has been kept chained and masked in a dungeon for years. Leo is young here and struggles a bit with accent etc and I think also gets overshadowed by the experience of the others in the cast. 10/12/15

Kate Black I saw this film about a year ago and loved it the minute I saw it! The plot is wonderful, the acting perfect, the costumes are beautiful as are the locations and sets, the whole thing is great! The story is well told and intriguing, keeping you interested through the whole film. And I loved some of the unexpected plot twists, especially near the end. WARNING BIG SPOILERS HERE The fact that D'Artagnan loved Queen Anne and that King Louis and Philippe were his sons, the was a great idea! I didn't like D'Artagnan dying at the end, that was really sad but Leonardo Dicaprio gave an amazing performance in that scene so it wasn't all bad. Also that they put Louis in the mask after, I thought that was a little cruel for good guys to do. I mean he was evil and everything but still, almost no one deserves a fate like that. But I guess he got a pardon later so... END OF SPOILERS Anyway as for the leading man, I think this was one of Leonardo Dicaprio's best films. He was perfect in playing both the spoiled brat Louis and the kind, oppressed Philippe. His performance was, I think, the best part of the film. The scenes where the twins are together was an example of some amazing filming. The two Leos fit perfectly, it was like it really was twins instead of the same actor! Jeremy Irons was really good as Aramis and I loved Gabriel Byrne's D'Artagnan too! All in all a great film. Bravo! Encore!

aclair-1 I watch it over and over again. All actors are well chosen. The director didn't waste the story - on the contrary, he turned it out in a beautiful film, which I watch with pleasure. I was afraid first that Dumas' novel won't come up well on film. But the film turned out to be better than the book. So powerful and impressive performance. Excellent work, the staff didn't miss any detail and didn't ruin the classic story. I am glad Randall Wallace did his job so well and professionally. More historic films would fill our entertainment with more pleasure and I think, would change the values of the young people of our days. Excellent!