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!