This aggressive film draws a sword in the first
three minutes and never stops charging. Despite
isolated awkward and downright poor stints of
dialogue and editing, the magnificence of the
cinematography, pace, choreography and acting
prevail!
Never a poorly framed, lit or costumed scene. This
Musketeer's cinematography is rock solid and backed
with lush art design. We believe these actors are who
they are, where they are, in what they're wearing;
despite a schmorgasborg of accents least often
French.
Taking tips from "Crouching Tiger" and
"Jackie Chan" the stunts and fights in this medieval
Europe film borrow from the Chinese. The mix is hot
and heightens an already strong swashbuckling action
piece. Choreographer Xin-Xin Xiong conducted some
fantastic scenes as well in a strictly Hong Kong
flick "Time and
Tide."
Justin Chambers plays a rough tough D'Artagnan.
You may remember the character as a cocky boy that
learns to be a man. This Musketeer, however,
becomes a man in the first five minutes and never
looks back ... the other musketeers make sort of a
collective tipsy sidekick that rally together with
him in the name of the king of France.
Tim Roth's dark character brings to the film an
intense drama almost outside of the film's target,
"But what if I simply must kill someone?" Oddly, the
production fairs pretty well with one foot in
light-hearted PG-ism and the other in serious period
drama. It's a mix that clashes at times, even jerking
the crowd into laughter (at or with - you be the
judge). But mostly assists in energizing the already
strong pace.
Unfortunately, the romantic thread wanes, even
stumbles. Fortunately, it isn't overplayed. The music
also falls into a few cliché patches, but most
often comes to the rescue when other elements
occasionally miss (most notably, the horrid title
credits).
Overall, a visually steadfast, fun, exciting,
entertaining evening at the cinema. Never a dull
moment!
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