Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure action violence
Cast: Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Matthew MacFadyen, Ray Stevenson, Luke Evans, Mads Mikkelsen
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
When 3D made its resurgence into mainstream Hollywood features a few years back, some studios refused to offer audiences a 2D option, forcing all into an additional $3 surcharge per ticket if they wanted to see a particular movie. This was met with an outcry from moviegoers, and the studios subsequently relented and offered standard viewing options. I sense something else was at play here. The average moviegoer was dialed into something the average studio executive was not... that what sucks in 2D cannot be rectified by 3D.
I have never been a proponent of 3D filmmaking (at least, not in feature-length movies) and always seek out the 2D option when reviewing. The decision behind this isn't so much bred from my outspoken distaste of 3D, but more from the fact that when down to brass tacks, there isn't much point to the added dimension. Standard 2D is cinematic sea level... if a film can't float there, 3D isn't going to make a lick of difference.
Not all 3D films are bad. ("Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Dolphin Tale" are two recent examples of good 3D.) But where studios get into trouble is when they choose to fund a movie idea based solely on how it might play with the added dimension. Such is the case with this ridiculously loose adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers." The movie is a diarrheic deluge of anachronisms. Everything from fight maneuvers that seem plucked from "The Matrix" to ninja-inspired camouflage techniques to an army of half-zeppelin, half-galleon airships armed with all manner of state-of-the-art firepower seems to have been conceived solely on how totally radically cool it'd be in 3D. The problem isn't necessarily the anachronisms but that despite the often mesmerizing production design, the film somehow never manages to be fun.
Look, I'll credit the movie for its visual style which at times borders on the jaw-dropping. (This is one of the best looking films I couldn't care less about.) But what it has in technical skill is offset by a misplaced passion with regards to the story. Watching the film, we can see where director Paul W.S. Anderson ("Event Horizon") has spent the most amount of thought and effort... mostly in the scenes involving his real-life wife, Milla Jovovich ("Resident Evil") as the seductive, double-crossing Milady. The scenes where she slides backward to avoid Indiana Jones-style propelled spikes or where she fights off a slew of guards before bungee-jumping half-naked off the palace roof are handled with noticeable skill, the anachronistic tone of those scenes notwithstanding. Yet we can also see where little effort has gone into the production; there are dialogue exchanges that are rushed and so lacking in thought, meaning, or emotion that one wonders if Anderson was even present while those scenes were put to film. The director appears to put effort into certain aspects of the story while shamelessly disregarding others. The film is more interested in inspiring awe in its scale than interest in its characters. The result is a movie that didn't feel complete to me... like watching a professional football player who takes plays off.
The plot is so loose it barely warrants any real detailed mention. As the story opens, hard times have befallen Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson), and Aramis (Luke Evans). When a plot is unearthed to plunge France and England into war, the trio--with the prodding of the impetuous young swordsman D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman)--reunite to fulfill their patriotic duty.
The performances are hit and miss. Logan Lerman gets D'Artagnan's unbridled cockiness right but seems a mite too self-aware in the process; he's not really credible as an idealistic young fighter of the time, but comes off more like a modern day high schooler with the lead in the student play. He's about as heroic as Bill or Ted. My problem with Milla Jovovich isn't that she can't act per se, but that she's simply too aware of how good-looking she is. Her perpetual lack of self-effacement cripples her performances. As the Musketeers, Macfadyen, Stevenson, and Evans are all solid actors with too little to do here. Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu and Mads Mikkelsen ("Casino Royale") as the vile Rocheford come off the best.
I suppose there is an audience for this film, but it isn't for lovers of Dumas' source material. The best way to analyze the movie is to call it what it is... Musketeers for the "Resident Evil" crowd. It's a technically sound movie that never garnered my interest. Those who prefer a high-spirited, dashing historical adventure may want to revisit Dumas' original work instead. It's more entertaining. And cheaper.
* 1/2 out of * * * * stars
I have never been a proponent of 3D filmmaking (at least, not in feature-length movies) and always seek out the 2D option when reviewing. The decision behind this isn't so much bred from my outspoken distaste of 3D, but more from the fact that when down to brass tacks, there isn't much point to the added dimension. Standard 2D is cinematic sea level... if a film can't float there, 3D isn't going to make a lick of difference.
Not all 3D films are bad. ("Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Dolphin Tale" are two recent examples of good 3D.) But where studios get into trouble is when they choose to fund a movie idea based solely on how it might play with the added dimension. Such is the case with this ridiculously loose adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers." The movie is a diarrheic deluge of anachronisms. Everything from fight maneuvers that seem plucked from "The Matrix" to ninja-inspired camouflage techniques to an army of half-zeppelin, half-galleon airships armed with all manner of state-of-the-art firepower seems to have been conceived solely on how totally radically cool it'd be in 3D. The problem isn't necessarily the anachronisms but that despite the often mesmerizing production design, the film somehow never manages to be fun.
Look, I'll credit the movie for its visual style which at times borders on the jaw-dropping. (This is one of the best looking films I couldn't care less about.) But what it has in technical skill is offset by a misplaced passion with regards to the story. Watching the film, we can see where director Paul W.S. Anderson ("Event Horizon") has spent the most amount of thought and effort... mostly in the scenes involving his real-life wife, Milla Jovovich ("Resident Evil") as the seductive, double-crossing Milady. The scenes where she slides backward to avoid Indiana Jones-style propelled spikes or where she fights off a slew of guards before bungee-jumping half-naked off the palace roof are handled with noticeable skill, the anachronistic tone of those scenes notwithstanding. Yet we can also see where little effort has gone into the production; there are dialogue exchanges that are rushed and so lacking in thought, meaning, or emotion that one wonders if Anderson was even present while those scenes were put to film. The director appears to put effort into certain aspects of the story while shamelessly disregarding others. The film is more interested in inspiring awe in its scale than interest in its characters. The result is a movie that didn't feel complete to me... like watching a professional football player who takes plays off.
The plot is so loose it barely warrants any real detailed mention. As the story opens, hard times have befallen Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson), and Aramis (Luke Evans). When a plot is unearthed to plunge France and England into war, the trio--with the prodding of the impetuous young swordsman D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman)--reunite to fulfill their patriotic duty.
The performances are hit and miss. Logan Lerman gets D'Artagnan's unbridled cockiness right but seems a mite too self-aware in the process; he's not really credible as an idealistic young fighter of the time, but comes off more like a modern day high schooler with the lead in the student play. He's about as heroic as Bill or Ted. My problem with Milla Jovovich isn't that she can't act per se, but that she's simply too aware of how good-looking she is. Her perpetual lack of self-effacement cripples her performances. As the Musketeers, Macfadyen, Stevenson, and Evans are all solid actors with too little to do here. Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu and Mads Mikkelsen ("Casino Royale") as the vile Rocheford come off the best.
I suppose there is an audience for this film, but it isn't for lovers of Dumas' source material. The best way to analyze the movie is to call it what it is... Musketeers for the "Resident Evil" crowd. It's a technically sound movie that never garnered my interest. Those who prefer a high-spirited, dashing historical adventure may want to revisit Dumas' original work instead. It's more entertaining. And cheaper.
* 1/2 out of * * * * stars
