Alexander Dumas' great book has been adapted to film numerous times. And for a good reason, for it is a great story, full of adventure, political intrigue, great characters and daring deeds. Yet I'd claim that it is not really suited for being a movie. Or at least I haven't seen a version yet that manages to capture the spirit and greatness of the original novel.
That being said, despite its obvious flaws, this particular film is actually rather enjoyable. Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Oliver Platt portray Aramis, Athos and Porthos, respectively, while Chris O'Donnell plays D'Artagnan. D'Artagnan is a son of a musketeer, an elite guard of the king of France, and is all set out to become one himself. Unfortunately, just as he travels to Paris, Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) has disbanded the musketeers as obsolete and outdated, all while vying for power over the young king. And thus all the musketeers have put down their swords. All except three, thus the title.
What the movie gets right is the energy and the adventure. All the main characters are played by good actors and they give solid, entertaining performances. Curry is especially enjoyable as a completely over the top villain. The action scenes are also very good and the whole film looks very nice, having great production values. Definitely a film for all adventure fans.
Where the film fails is as an adaptation. The events of the book are not followed all that closely and a lot of the story lines have been completely dropped. And even when they follow the book, it seems that they are in a rush. Like the scene where D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers meet for the first time. It is a classic scene that been imitated countless of times, but in this film it happens in under five minutes. Like they were in a terrible hurry, which is a real disservice to such a great scene.
All in all, The Three Musketeers is at its best if you don't know all that much about the original story from the book. As a standalone film it is a fun little adventure film with good characters. Still, I've seen far worse adaptations.
That being said, despite its obvious flaws, this particular film is actually rather enjoyable. Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Oliver Platt portray Aramis, Athos and Porthos, respectively, while Chris O'Donnell plays D'Artagnan. D'Artagnan is a son of a musketeer, an elite guard of the king of France, and is all set out to become one himself. Unfortunately, just as he travels to Paris, Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) has disbanded the musketeers as obsolete and outdated, all while vying for power over the young king. And thus all the musketeers have put down their swords. All except three, thus the title.
What the movie gets right is the energy and the adventure. All the main characters are played by good actors and they give solid, entertaining performances. Curry is especially enjoyable as a completely over the top villain. The action scenes are also very good and the whole film looks very nice, having great production values. Definitely a film for all adventure fans.
Where the film fails is as an adaptation. The events of the book are not followed all that closely and a lot of the story lines have been completely dropped. And even when they follow the book, it seems that they are in a rush. Like the scene where D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers meet for the first time. It is a classic scene that been imitated countless of times, but in this film it happens in under five minutes. Like they were in a terrible hurry, which is a real disservice to such a great scene.
All in all, The Three Musketeers is at its best if you don't know all that much about the original story from the book. As a standalone film it is a fun little adventure film with good characters. Still, I've seen far worse adaptations.