More than ten years after the last adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s 1844 novel we finally got a proper one. I’m sure you all remember the dazzling oddity that was The Three Musketeers [2011]. Directed by Paul W. S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich it had blimps, explosions, and all kinds of other weird stuff. The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan marks the return to the classic style of storytelling. It follows the novel quite precisely and in the same manner as the Musketeers movie I grew up with. It feels quite strange to say that I grew up watching the 1973 version starring Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain, and Michael York.
Mostly because I was already ten years old when the 1993 Disney version with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Oliver Platt, and Chris O’Donnell was released. I guess the rights for that iconic seventies movie were cheaper. And that was also a two-parter just like the one we’re talking about today. The sequel to The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan titled The Three Musketeers: Milady is already ready for distribution. The release date is 13th December 2023, so we won’t have to wait long to check it out. This also means that you can watch the whole thing as a miniseries from that moment on.
The combined running time of both movies is under 4 hours which is quite a feat. So, what can you expect from the first part of this epic? First of all, you can count on authentic, lavish, and extravagant locations. Castles and their interiors look absolutely mesmerizing to the point of being distracting. I mean, just take the number of candles lit in a single room you’ll see what I mean. Moreover, out of 150 days of shooting, the production spent only one in the studio. Everything else was done on location. And you can bet your sweet ass that the French countryside looks absolutely dreamy.
Secondly, the costumes are also excellent along with the rest of the props. The cast did a terrific job and it’s no wonder that this is the third highest-grossing French film of 2023. We’ve got Eva Green, Vincent Cassel, and Romain Duris in the lead roles. D’Artagnan is played by young rising star François Civil whom you might remember from BAC Nord or Le Chant du Loup. As it is always the case with French movies, the women are absolutely breathtaking while the men are average at best. While we’re on that subject, I fucking called it, didn’t I? A couple of months ago, I watched a gritty French thriller Novembre and noticed young Lyna Khoudri.
And here she is in a major production just eating up screen time. I think we will be seeing a lot of her in the future. Now, if you don’t know anything about The Three Musketeers, you might be a bit overwhelmed by the opening 30 minutes. There will be just too many characters and subplots to keep in mind while reading the subtitles. To sum it all up, we have a young country boy coming to Paris to join the famous King’s guard, The Musketeers. King and Queen are having trouble in their marriage so the evil Cardinal Richelieu is trying to take advantage of that through his instrument the beautiful and deadly Milady.
The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan has it all: romance, evil plots, action, suspense, comedy, and a healthy dose of reality. Moreover, the action sequences and the sword fights are both exciting and entertaining. It’s so rare to see a good movie sword fight these days. However, I should point out that the movie stays true to the source material and this means there will be a lot of talking, intrigue, and romance, and just a few action scenes. There’s nothing wrong with that, I just don’t want you going into the movie thinking that it’s all fights and shit.
Director: Martin Bourboulon
Writers: Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière, Alexandre Dumas
Cast: François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmaï, Eva Green, Lyna Khoudri, Louis Garrel
Fun Facts: François Civil who plays D’Artagnan did almost all of his stunts after preparing for the role for almost six months. Moreover, he was trained by Olympic Épée Champion Yannick Borel.
Rating:
IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12672536/
