Martin Bourboulon directs François Civil, Vincent Cassel and Eva Green in this classic French swashbuckling adventure based on the first half of Alexander Dumas’ epic tome.

One small confession. I ran out of coffee and had a short doze at the start of the third act. And considering this is the first movie adaptation aiming to reintroduce a bit of girth and complexity back into this much rehashed tale I probably missed a few important moments. What I did see was very satisfying. The perfect casting. The bruising, close quarters battle sequences. Every single look Eva Green’s Milady served. The fact that it was serious in its execution but still retained a good sense of humour within the easy camaraderie of the four heroes. This is an impressive production with minimal sops for 2023 audiences specifically, it is happy to let Dumas’ story and characters do the heavy lifting entertainment wise, framing them in a grimy yet handsome mood. Well up for Part Two later in the year and if they stick the landing this could be the definitive version of the novel. Like Villeneuve’s similar Dune diptych one key pleasure here is trying to figure out where the narrative is going to break off and leave the second movie to cover. Bourboulon picks the right moment.

7

Perfect Double Bill: The Three Musketeers: Milady (2023)

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