Review of The Three Musketeers (2011) by Filipeneto — 14 Feb 2021

"The Three Musketeers" are one of the fiction books most adapted to cinema. This is another adaptation to add to the extensive list, and it is not one of the best. As the script is known, I will not stop to analyze it. I will, however, make a word of advice that is necessary: this film is not even close to being historically credible. It is an almost complete anachronism and portrays the Musketeers and, especially, Milady, as if they were the 17th century's "James Bond", full of tactics and inventive gadgets for all occasions.

The film is an adventure that begins in Venice, it involves a flying machine supposedly invented by Da Vinci, many creative weapons, choreographed fights, acrobatics and even climbing and gymnastics routines by women in corsets. A mixture so incredible and absurd that I was expecting to see automobiles too, and that shows how far a writer's creative freedom can reach if they don't get their feet on the ground. However, it is a fun movie and entertains the audience quite well.

The cast is one of the strong points of this film. I highlight, on a positive note, the performance of Christoph Waltz, who transformed Richelieu into a skilled and manipulative politician under the garb of a pious clergyman. Milla Jovovich is also quite good as Milady, a double agent with a vast arsenal always up his sleeve. Mads Mikkelsen is very effective as a villain and looks like a fearsome opponent. The musketeers (Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson, Matthew Macfadyen) are good enough, given the rewriting of the characters in this film, but they are almost relegated to supporting characters in their own film, a mistake that is quite common in the movies adaptations of this story. Juno Temple and Freddie Fox are funny as a couple but don't have much to do. On the negative side, I didn't like Logan Lerman, I think he was a weak protagonist despite looking young and elegant, and I think Orlando Bloom, for who he is, simply received too much visibility and relevance in a story where it wasn't necessary, resulting in a tiring presence.

Technically, the film is quite spectacular. Cinematography is magnificent, with excellent colors and sharpness, and the film was very well edited and handled in post-production. The CGI is impressive and if more proof was needed that there is a lot of money invested in the film it would be enough to see the choice of filming locations: it is an authentic tour through some of the most beautiful palaces in Bavaria, such as Würzburg, Marienberg, Herrenchiemsee, Schleißheim and Pommersfelden. If the beauty of these palaces is undeniable, the film was able to emphasize it. I only regret that, at times, the film seems more baroque than it should be, as if the story were being set fifty years later, in the first decades of the 18th century. The same can be said of the costumes, which nevertheless seem impressive and detailed. However, I already said that historical rigor was run over and killed in this film. The soundtrack is not surprising, assuming an appropriately epic tone without being histrionic.