TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Unlimitedia Sick Product of a Sick System

Tayyab Torres Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

RyanTheStoryteller When I first saw this movie in the theater I had just finished reading the book. If 16 year old me hadn't paid my hard earned $3.50 (wouldn't it be nice if that were still the price of movie tickets?) I would have walked out of the theater.I think that some time before this came out there must have been a law passed that stated that if you are going to make The Three Musketeers into a movie that you are not allowed to make it resemble the book in any way.If your whole concept of The Three Musketeers comes from this little farce than you really know nothing about this great story. The Three Musketeers is an exceptional piece of historical fiction filled with political intrigue, great heroes and sinister villains. What it doesn't have is an overabundance of slapstick jokes, "Porthos the Pirate," a wimpy Lady DeWinter, the nauseating overuse of the line "all for one and one for all" (they say it exactly one time in the book) or D'Artagnan being played by Chris O'Donnell. Shame on you Disney, shame. Watch the 1948 version starring Gene Kelly; it's a million times better.

Anssi Vartiainen Alexander Dumas' great book has been adapted to film numerous times. And for a good reason, for it is a great story, full of adventure, political intrigue, great characters and daring deeds. Yet I'd claim that it is not really suited for being a movie. Or at least I haven't seen a version yet that manages to capture the spirit and greatness of the original novel.That being said, despite its obvious flaws, this particular film is actually rather enjoyable. Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Oliver Platt portray Aramis, Athos and Porthos, respectively, while Chris O'Donnell plays D'Artagnan. D'Artagnan is a son of a musketeer, an elite guard of the king of France, and is all set out to become one himself. Unfortunately, just as he travels to Paris, Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) has disbanded the musketeers as obsolete and outdated, all while vying for power over the young king. And thus all the musketeers have put down their swords. All except three, thus the title.What the movie gets right is the energy and the adventure. All the main characters are played by good actors and they give solid, entertaining performances. Curry is especially enjoyable as a completely over the top villain. The action scenes are also very good and the whole film looks very nice, having great production values. Definitely a film for all adventure fans.Where the film fails is as an adaptation. The events of the book are not followed all that closely and a lot of the story lines have been completely dropped. And even when they follow the book, it seems that they are in a rush. Like the scene where D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers meet for the first time. It is a classic scene that been imitated countless of times, but in this film it happens in under five minutes. Like they were in a terrible hurry, which is a real disservice to such a great scene.All in all, The Three Musketeers is at its best if you don't know all that much about the original story from the book. As a standalone film it is a fun little adventure film with good characters. Still, I've seen far worse adaptations.

SnoopyStyle D'Artagnan (Chris O'Donnell) intends to follow his father and join the Musketeers in Paris. His father was disgraced for supposedly failing to protect the king. Rochefort (Michael Wincott) working under the evil Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) disbands the Musketeers. Three Musketeers Aramis (Charlie Sheen), Athos (Kiefer Sutherland) and Porthos (Oliver Platt) refuses to surrender. D'Artagnan quickly finds himself with three separate duels with the three Musketeers. He falls for Constance (Julie Delpy) who is a lady-in-waiting with Queen Anne (Gabrielle Anwar). D'Artagnan is captured by Rochefort but escapes after learning of Richelieu's plan to conspire with the English and Milady De Winter (Rebecca De Mornay) to overthrow the King.This Three Musketeers is trying to be another Young Guns. The problem is that it can't quite make this fun without feeling silly. This is a light weight swashbuckling adventure of yesteryears. It has no tension. The chemistry between the Musketeers feels tired. Chris O'Donnell has his joyless sincerity. The movie stalls whenever the swashbuckling action stops.

berrrchills3 There are about 130+ reviews on this film and while I have not read every single one, I have read a handful. What I am about to say may have already been stated by someone else, but like I said, I have not read every single review. The reviews that I did happen to look through were quite critical of the film. The most popular critique was that it was not an accurate adaptation of Alexander Dumas' novel. I am hear to tell you that that's the point. This version of The Three Musketeers was never about being an accurate adaptation. While it highlights key components of the story and some history (like who the Musketeers were, etc) it was meant to focus more on (to quote Charlie Sheen on the Behind the Scenes on the DVD) "the camaraderie. the essence of brotherhood." I also noticed people complaining it's not a family film. Of course it's not. It's not just Disney it's also a Touchstone film. Yes, I know Disney (either owns or is merged with Touchstone. Something like that.) Either way, it doesn't have to be strictly the Disney we know.So if you're looking for a more accurate adaptation of the novel then this film is not for you. I would recommend one of the versions that was created before 1993. I think the one made sometime in the 40s is more accurate and I believe the one from the 70s may also be more accurate for certain people's tastes.