D'Artagnan et les Trois Mousquetaires

This French version of the famous story should have been much more faithful to Alexandre Dumas' text... I'm hugely disappointed. Milady Winter could not be just a bad girl, that was too easy. She had to be Demon-possessed!!! I'm not kidding, she does sign a covenant with the Devil in this film!!! It happens in the woods just after Athos try to kill her... And the young boy D'Artagnan witnesses the whole mess... Years later D'Artagnan would be the only one who could beat her... Why the writers have invented it? Was it really necessary? Certainly the writers, or the producers, decided the original story was not good enough to attract audience. There are also some Matrix-like fighting scenes. This had already been done much better in Peter Hyams' The Musketeer (2001) which was not a serious film.

The rest of the film is not that bad. Good cast, good production values. But why they had to include the Devil in this???

they turn milady into a ninja sorceress, for no apparent reason. the ensuing special effects are lame. lackluster wirework, sword fights few and far between. some of the actors are pretty (boys and girls, with character) but there is no real chemistry nor, alas--and this is the real kicker--any 'panache'. a long, humorless, horribly misguided waste.

there really isn't anything more to say of any importance. they retain much of the outline of dumas' story, but it is perfunctory, and disposed of as quickly as possible in order to move on to pointless development of the devil sorceress "plot".

also, us DVD release of this movie is dubbed, badly, with no option to view with original soundtrack.

Much better than Hollywood versions. Excellent timing. No time wasted on accessory adventures or hiper-detailed beginnings and clumsy and too keep with budget. This film spends viewer time on what's important. Sign of the times, perhaps, lots of «kung fu» and «buffy the vampire slayer».. Some people like to re-invent the wheel.. but the book is all adventure anyway and we can't blame Dumas for not having thought of everything, can we?! The taste of the 21st century spectator is as much reflected in this film as that of the 19th reader is satisfied in the book. To the dread of the purist, this movie may in fact remain true to the original; certainly not in «form», but in «logic». All in all a good movie and among best of the several (though not all) of «Les Trois Mousquetaires» that I have seen so far. The «garde robe» is exquisite and it's historic accuracy (or at least the look of it) marks the different to Hollywood amateurism in these more serious aspects of show-business. If they colored the story, these people at least new what they were filming about. Last, but not least, the cast: Awesome babes! I mean.. I'd buy that soul if I could afford it. :-)

Rui Duarte

When reading the novels by Alexandre Dumas as a twelve year old kid, the impression I got from The Three Musketeers was completely different from what I had seen on the movies. Where the books had been quite dark, the white screen presented comedies and "jolly old chap" sentiments, the only exception being the Richard Lester excellent versions of 1973/74 (although made with love and humor, it was not even close to being reduced to a "d'Artagnan and the Merry Olde Musketeers" level...). With this new French movies (two parts, just like Lester's) I can really recognize the Dumas spirit. I can not say that this version is superior in terms of corresponding better with the books from a word-by-word perspective, but the over all impression certainly is. Some people might disapprove with Emanuelle Béart's interpretation of Milady, but I think this is where the Dumas' feeling really shines through... Béart makes Milady not only evil, but diabolic.

Nice effects, reasonably good actors, suspense. Good effects.

Though it can't be more than 3 for its contained silliness. Following the original book by Alexandre Dumas pretty closely, there is just additional witch-craft crap throughout the movie. I wonder if it might have been added to play with effects?

In any case, this brings down an otherwise good movie to a rather ridiculous level. While Lady Winter has a lot of potential given to her by the plot in the book, giving her supernatural to diabolic powers in the movie makes little sense, and rather distort the circles that she could have drawn around Richelieu, Buckingham, d'Artagnan.