L'homme au masque de fer

I only first watched it a year ago, and wasn't sure I would like it at all. Although it had some of my favorite actors (John M. Gabriel B. ..and so on) it also held some of my least favorite actors (Leonardo D. ..and that's it). I watched it, and loved it! There is comedy, romance, adventure, drama, some educational value, and it holds the oh-so-fine Jeremy Irons. I found it captivating enough, interesting so to speak. It doesn't have any of those "Is it over yet? Should I wake my legs now?" scenes. I don't recommend it for little kids, though.

One either really likes this movie or really hates it. There's very little grey ground.

This movie takes some names from history and recreates an entirely novel, interesting, sad, dramatic tale. Was it merely another vehicle for Decaprios fame to grow? Maybe. Probably. But it was still entertaining, if for nothing else the amazing wardrobes.

I really like all the guys in the cast - Irons is always good. And finally some cast director recognized how much Saarsgard channels Malchovich in looks, voice and speaking, thus perfect as his son. I enjoyed Depardieus comedic relief. I like Byrne's - but I thought he looked way too old as D'Artagnan - it was a little off-putting. But his great acting helped.

I also thought the girl who played Christine (did a fairly good job) but should've been someone much more well known. Here were all these well known legends, & popular, up & coming young guys, & then her. Seemed a little unbalanced.

The varied accents for some reason, didn't bother me in this particular movie. I prefer actors who say their lines realistically rather than wrestling an accent. Doing accents is great in movies, but if not trained perfectly it can really take you out of a movie worse than no accent. However, as is, I also understand why some viewers would be bugged by the various accents.

I thought the story was interesting & appealing, and Decaprios dramatic reactions as both characters was incredible. Upon removing the mask & his tentativeness & humility, as well as his dramatic role as the hateful & entitled young King. Quite a feat to pull off two distinctly different people, who simply look just alike.

Basically an entertaining movie night. Dont get bogged down by reality or be history minded. Just enjoy this as a fairy tale.

This 1998 movie provides everything a swashbuckling cape-and-sword flick should - legendary heroes, a cruel villain, noble sentiments, touches of love and sex, some slapstick, picturesque scenery, sumptuous interiors and of course dashing swordplay (the last perhaps a little limited by the maturity of some of the principals).

It has also some reasonably intelligent dialogue, provided by writer/producer/director, Randall Wallace, and spoken in part by two of the finest voices in the business - Jeremy Irons (Athos) and John Malkovich (Aramis). Gerard Depardieu (Porthos) and Gabriel Byrne (D'Artangnan) are the other two of the original 3 + 1 Musketeers.

The villainy of the young King Louis 14 is provided by Leonardo DiCaprio, who may be too wishy-washy for some tastes, though he certainly has the veneer of elegance needed for the part. One niggle I have is, that it would have been better if he had been instructed to pronounce Athos either with a short a or a long a (preferably the former) and not alternate between the two.

The plot, like the Dumas novel on which it is based, has no less, and no more, credibility than is appropriate for this type of film - for anyone interested in the real events and rumours surrounding the Man in the Iron Mask, I recommend this website - http://www.royalty.nu/legends/IronMask.html

One aspect of the film I find amusing is that in this version of a quintessentially French story, the only French actor in the quartet of heroes, Gerard Depardieu, plays the part of a uncouth, lecherous buffoon; while an Englishman, an American and an Irishman provide the grace, heartfelt speeches and depth of character. I wonder how that went down with the audience in France.

The only problem with this movie that the plot is a bit implausible, but nevertheless, everything was great. I must say that I've seen this movie more times than any movie in the world and i still say it's great. It has a star-studded cast, and all of them did an excellent acting job (DiCaprio, Byrne, Malkovich, Depardieu and Irons). This is a perfect ensemble cast, it's as if the roles were written for the actors. The acting was just well done. The events are exciting and sometimes heart-wrenching, the music is great, and the dialogue is truly, truly exceptional. Trust me, after watching this movie at least 18 times, I've realized that the dialogue is just superb. I very much recommend the movie, however, the story is very, very far from the original book by Alexander Dumas.

In 1993 we got "The Three Musketeers," a story full of levity about three members of the royal French guard who vowed to save the king of France. In 1998 we got "The Man in the Iron Mask" which is about three musketeers who are seeking to depose the corrupt young king of France.

The story was riveting. Leonardo Di Caprio played King Louis the 14th who very much reminded me of a Joffrey Baratheon from Game of Thrones. That alone made me want to see him taken down, and taken down hard. France was at war, the people were starving, and all the young king could think to do was sleep with another man's fiance.

Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Athos (John Malkovich), and Pathos (Gerard Depardieu), three ex-musketeers, desired a revolution--bloodless if possible. They could get the king they wanted on the throne if they could switch King Louis with his wrongfully imprisoned twin brother Phillipe.

The plot was a fascinating one because there was a loathsome king and those who would oppose him. It was complicated by the king's chief guard D'artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) having an allegiance to both his king and his fellow former musketeers, Aramis, Athos, and Pathos. The acting by all was delightful and the production itself was top quality. There were very few downsides to this film.