The Three Musketeers (2011) starring Matthew Macfadyen, Logan Lerman, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom, Christoph Waltz directed by Paul W.S. Anderson Movie Review

The Three Musketeers (2011)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Logan Lerman in The Three Musketeers (2011)

The ADHD Musketeers

The Three Musketeers; Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans) have been forced to disband by the evil Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) thanks to the betrayal of Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich) who whilst was Athos's lover is loyal to the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom). Unaware of their disbandment D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman) arrives in Paris looking to become a Musketeer and soon ends up picking a fight with them before joining forces when they end up in a fight with Richelieu's men. But that is by no means the end of their troubles as Richelieu wants them killed over some stolen airship blue-prints drawn by Leonardo da Vinci.

Yes you did read that right, this version of Alexandre Dumas's classic and much adapted novel features an airship, it also features ninja like Musketeers and an all action Milady. Now I never thought I would hear myself say this but I guess I am a traditionalist as these quirky embellishments didn't do it for me and are not needed when you have such a strong storyline to start with. But then these quirky embellishments are what this version of "The Three Musketeers" is about, they are over the top visual scenes which will more than likely appeal to a young audience who don't want to listen to dialogue or pay attention to a story but just want larger than life characters and action.

Now I guess as such "The Three Musketeers" must be generally seen as a success as it has that same energy, visual style and quirkiness which were introduced to us a few years earlier in "The Pirates of the Caribbean" movies as it appears to be targeting the same sort of audience. From the introduction which is snappy as we see a Musketeers emerge from a canal like a deadly assassin to an early moment of action as Milady de Winter runs down a booby trapped corridor it is all in your face entertainment featuring a pretty looking cast. I suppose technically the likes of Matthew Macfadyen, Logan Lerman and Milla Jovovich all play their parts well, larger than life and quirky and so in keeping with the tone and style of this adaptation but the characters did not really have character but looked right.

What this all boils down to is that this 2011 version of "The Three Musketeers" was not for me as not only do I prefer this classic story to be done traditionally but I found it a shallow movie which was all about delivering an over the top look and over the top action for those who find plot and dialogue a challenge.


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