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jaceyWhile some people might measure a move of Three Musketeers against the book, I'm afraid I measure it against the 1973 Dick Leicester version, seen in my formative years and loved for Ollie Reed. Richard Clamberlain, Christopher Lee and the wonderful Roy Kinnear, not to mention Spike Milligan and Raquel Welch. I missed the chicken fight, for instance.
I was a bit wary of a steampunked Three Musketeers, but it wasn't a steampunky as the posters and trailers made it out to be. Not steampunky at all, in fact, except for a rather weird weapon seen once at the beginning but never again, and airships, supposedly as designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Literally wooden ships with hot air ballons instead of sails. It was more of a caper movie at the beginning and did have an Indiana Jones moment, too, but that's OK.
A few logic bloopers, but let's get the worst tech one out of the way first. Buckingham (Orlando Bloom), here much more the villain than in the Michael York/Richard Chamberlain movie from the 1970s, arrives in France in an airship to visit the king and anchors it by tossing out a heavy anchor which holds his ship to the ground. Yes, this very same anchor which has been on board the ship all the way across the Channel is now too heavy to let it float away. Duh! It's the 'skateboarding elf'' moment (LOTR Helm's Deep) that yanks you out of an otherwise engaging yarn. Yes, OK, there was Athos' diving helmet in the opening scene along with the above noted strange weapon of mass distraction, but it was the opening scene and quickly over.
So, the story - pretty much as I remember it from the 1973 much-loved movie with added airships and Buckingham cast as the sneering baddie. Orlando Bloom seemed to be enjoying himself chewing the scenery. Athos, Porthos & Aramis were well cast - though Luke Evans as Aramis was sadly way too much like Orlando Bloom, physically. They could have swapped roles and you might not have noticed. Aramis and Porthos were also a little under-characterised, perhaps, but no surprise there. It's Hollywood, right? There was only room for Athos' angst over Milady (well played by Mila Jovovich).
Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson in PJ and the Lightning Thief) made a good D'Artagnan - very much a cocky teenager. Pity about the American accent. And speaking of accents Mads Mikkelsen's (Rochefort) accent was very strange. Sounded southern American at times, but I see that he's Danish. Oh, well. Nowhere near as scarey as Chrstopher Lee's Rochefort in the 1973 version.
Plot? The queen's jewels to be retrieved from England. Entirely as expected, leaving room for a sequel, of course.
Surprise? James Cordon made a very good Planchet. Not quite Roy Kinnear, but good all the same.
Verdict. Forgiveable fun. Worth a trip to the cinema.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
la_marquise_de_ may not agree with me on account of this being her favourite book, of clourse. Yes they took liberties, but it was still an entertaining afternoon out.
I was a bit wary of a steampunked Three Musketeers, but it wasn't a steampunky as the posters and trailers made it out to be. Not steampunky at all, in fact, except for a rather weird weapon seen once at the beginning but never again, and airships, supposedly as designed by Leonardo da Vinci. Literally wooden ships with hot air ballons instead of sails. It was more of a caper movie at the beginning and did have an Indiana Jones moment, too, but that's OK.
A few logic bloopers, but let's get the worst tech one out of the way first. Buckingham (Orlando Bloom), here much more the villain than in the Michael York/Richard Chamberlain movie from the 1970s, arrives in France in an airship to visit the king and anchors it by tossing out a heavy anchor which holds his ship to the ground. Yes, this very same anchor which has been on board the ship all the way across the Channel is now too heavy to let it float away. Duh! It's the 'skateboarding elf'' moment (LOTR Helm's Deep) that yanks you out of an otherwise engaging yarn. Yes, OK, there was Athos' diving helmet in the opening scene along with the above noted strange weapon of mass distraction, but it was the opening scene and quickly over.
So, the story - pretty much as I remember it from the 1973 much-loved movie with added airships and Buckingham cast as the sneering baddie. Orlando Bloom seemed to be enjoying himself chewing the scenery. Athos, Porthos & Aramis were well cast - though Luke Evans as Aramis was sadly way too much like Orlando Bloom, physically. They could have swapped roles and you might not have noticed. Aramis and Porthos were also a little under-characterised, perhaps, but no surprise there. It's Hollywood, right? There was only room for Athos' angst over Milady (well played by Mila Jovovich).
Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson in PJ and the Lightning Thief) made a good D'Artagnan - very much a cocky teenager. Pity about the American accent. And speaking of accents Mads Mikkelsen's (Rochefort) accent was very strange. Sounded southern American at times, but I see that he's Danish. Oh, well. Nowhere near as scarey as Chrstopher Lee's Rochefort in the 1973 version.
Plot? The queen's jewels to be retrieved from England. Entirely as expected, leaving room for a sequel, of course.
Surprise? James Cordon made a very good Planchet. Not quite Roy Kinnear, but good all the same.
Verdict. Forgiveable fun. Worth a trip to the cinema.
la_marquise_de_ may not agree with me on account of this being her favourite book, of clourse. Yes they took liberties, but it was still an entertaining afternoon out.
