The Musketeer (2001)

Please don't spend money on this.

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

I don't remember much about the actual story line of this film, just that it was terrible. Bad acting, awful editing, and kung fu musketeers? Nope, not working. I think they were trying to cash in on the success of "The Matrix" and other films of that genre that were hot at that time. You're better off blocking this film from your memory. I pretty much have.

To change the story that Alexander Dumas wrote somewhat is fine to me as long as it is not completely butchered. Only a silly dumb comedy is the exception that I can tolerate. But to throw in martial arts into the story leads to a butchered disaster.The only perk to this film is that the swashbuckling scenes are choreographed well plus the costumes and sets are nice. The acting is mediocre at best. Other than those things - the film is pretty much awful.I will admit that I was thinking this film was another film and when I got to watching it and reading comments on it I then recalled seeing this version of The Musketeers before... I then fast-forwarded the film to watch. It's pretty bad.4/10

Hmmm... an attempt to combine swordplay with martial arts, a period swashbuckler from French literature with a Hong Kong style of action film-making. An odd fusion of influences, for sure. Many viewers will be turned off by the idea even before the credits roll, but I wanted to give the film a chance before judging it. Alas, this is one of those occasions where the mocking critics are proved right - The Musketeer is a huge disappointment, a dispiriting romp singularly lacking in wit, entertainment or any sense of meaningful narrative. It avoids a one-star rating simply because a couple of action sequences are interestingly choreographed and Tim Roth is good as a vile villain. On every other level the film is an abject failure.Raised by former musketeer Plachet (Jean-Pierre Castaldi) following the murder of his parents, D'Artagnan (Justin Chambers) grows up dreaming of becoming a musketeer himself. Unfortunately, by the time he is old enough and skilled enough to go to Paris to fulfil his dream, the musketeers have been disbanded by the scheming Cardinal Richlieu (Steven Rea). Richlieu is busily manipulating events in France, trying to create uneasy tensions between his own country and Britain and Spain, with help from his sinister one-eyed henchmen Febre (Tim Roth). Febre is the same villain who killed D'Artagnan's parents, and his blind eye is a direct result of an injury inflicted upon him by D'Artagnan as a boy. D'Artagnan manages to persuade some ex-musketeers to rise up and fight back against the political plotters controlling the country. Eventually, Febre becomes so drunk with power and bloodlust that even Cardinal Richlieu realises that he cannot control him, so he asks D'Artagnan and the musketeers to stop him. With the life of the Queen (Catherine Deneuve) and a young chambermaid (Mena Suvari) at stake, D'Artagnan attempts one last desperate bid to destroy Febre in his lair.The cast is an impressive one: Rea, Deneuve, Castaldi, Suvari - plus other faces like Nick Moran and Michael Byrne - are all established actors with a good body of work in their back catalogue. Alas, they are almost entirely wasted here - Gene Quinatno's hopelessly muddled script gives them nothing to do, since it's only interested in filling the gaps in as cursory a manner as possible between the action set-pieces. Only Roth does anything remotely three-dimensional with his character. It's peculiarly hard to follow what's going on much of the time, since all scenes involving exchanges of dialogue are clumsily fumbled. The fight choreography is at least pretty good, even if it does look rather amiss in a period swashbuckler like this. The climax, involving an elaborate series of stunts on ladders, is the highlight. Overall, though, The Musketeer is one big, unwieldy mess which never catches fire as a piece of entertainment.

The Musketeer is a film very loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' classic novel The Three Musketeers.It stars Catherine Deneuve, Tim Roth, Mena Suvari, Stephen Rea, Nick Moran, Bill Treacher and Justin Chambers.The movie was directed by Peter Hyams.The Musketeer was set in 17th-century Paris.A dashing swordsman named D'Artagnan finds himself at odds with the powerful forces taking over France. He sets out to avenge the murder of his parents and finds his country cleaved by chaos and civil unrest. His heart softens only for Francesca, a fiery peasant girl who claims D'Artagnan's heart on sight. D'Artagnan, after witnessing his unarmed parents slain by the evil Febre ,grows up wanting to be a musketeer, one of King Louis XIII's loyal protectors. Upon arriving in Paris, however, he finds that the Musketeers have been disbanded by order of Cardinal Richelieu, who is usurping the king's authority with the help of his lethal henchman, Febre.Traveling to Paris, D'Artagnan verbally spars with witless quip- spouting musketeers Aramis, Athos and Porthos. D'Artagnan heads off guarding the queen, who is traveling incognito as a commoner on her way to meet Lord Buckingham. The evil Febre, his leash held loosely by the evil Cardinal Richilieu, wants to kill the Queen in order to sow unrest and war, which would create opportunities to profit, a war between France and England.The Musketeer is a film that relies mainly of cheesy action scenes mostly on cheesy and unrealistic swordplay.Aside from that,it also has poor story that makes minimized Dumas' classic into a forgettable novel. Acting is decent and the editing presents somewhat a confusing story.Overall,The Musketeer is a MUST MISS film.