And the fish
I caught was this big
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A return to
the days of Errol Flynn in a film which takes swashbuckling to the
extreme.
Nigel Bell
Not so much
swords and sorcerers as swords meets the Orient as the classic Dumas
novel is given an overhaul by a Hong Kong fight action expert.
The story
A young D'Artagnan (Chambers) witnesses the death of his parents.
He's adopted by Planchet (Jean-Pierre Castaldi) and the story picks
up 14 years later with the pair heading to Paris.
Sound familiar
- the life of on Anakin Skywalker follows a similar path in Star
Wars and you wonder whether George Lucas was an Alexander Dumas
fan as a kid.
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| Ah, Belle
De Jour, now that was a film |
D'Artagnan wants
to be a musketeer, one of King Louis XIII's official guards. But
the soldiers have been sidelined by the army of Cardinal Richelieu
(Rea) who plans to overthrow the monarchy.
So begins our
hero's fight to become a great musketeer, save the Queen of France
and win the hand of the beautiful Francesca (Suvari).
So begins, also,
a quest to discover who murdered his parents, a quest which will
eventually lead to a showdown with the evil Fabre (Roth).
The verdict
The Musketeer could easily be dismissed as a pointless
remake of a film which has been made many times before.
But if you are
prepared to stretch your imagination and just enjoy what's put before
you, this is glorious entertainment, probably A Knight's Tale
for 2002.
Of course it's
over the top but not as much as I was fearing.
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| Now then
boys, who'll show me how to handle that sword |
News that Xin
Xin Xiong was in charge of the fight choreography sent visions of
high kicking fights in tree tops like Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon.
There's none
of that. What you get are crafted sword sequences in true Errol
Flynn style with the exquisite use of props.
Early on beer
barrels are used to great effect, the finale sees swordsmen clambering
up turrets, being pushed down spiral staircases and balancing on
ladders. Great stuff.
Chambers is
amiable enough as the hero and Mena Suvari a suitable love interest.
It's nice to
see Catherine Deneuve back on the big screen as the Queen but the
real honours go to Rea and Roth.
Roth especially
puts in an OTT performance as Fabre, the true villain of the piece,
who makes his mark in the opening minutes by mercilessly cutting
down D'Artagnan's family.
By the end of
the film he's run through a Spanish emissary in cold blood and threatened
to slit a young girl's throat.
It's a performance
which will appal as many people as it will please. For me, it's
perfect for the type of film The Musketeer is trying to be.
Look out to
for Bill Treacher, one time Eastenders Arthur Fowler, who
turns up as a leching landlord.
It's not all
perfect. It's a bit of a shock when, after the opening burst of
French accents, D'Atragnan opens his mouth - out comes pure American.
There's also
the use of pressurised grappling hooks which I'm not sure would
have been in Dumas original draft.
Overall, however,
The Musketeer pushes all the emotional buttons. It might
be cliché but often that's all you need.
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