After being highly impressed with the first instalment, I found myself eagerly awaiting "The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady".
It was far from average. In fact they upped the ante and delivered a plot that, though it took plenty of liberties from Alexandre Dumas' original, still managed to convey the core essence of this outstanding tale which has stood the test of time.
The French-language movie "The Three Musketeers: Milady" contained high-octane action, royal court intrigue, and a stunning twist that I'm still surprised I didn't see coming.
Exceptionally characterised and meticulously dramatized, this story and its timeless characters deserve a third round, but I'm not sure how much further the team can go after already having exhausted so much of the source material.
Set in the 1600s and capturing much of the core essence of that era, the movie made plenty of admirable creative decisions to tell the iconic tale of the titular three musketeers, who were later joined by a fourth.
Vincent Cassel as Athos, Pio Marmaï as Porthos, Romain Duris as Aramis, and François Civil as D'Artagnan gave riveting performances that were natural and compelling. They were real and un-glamourized, which was what made these characters seem credible.
As for Milady de Winter herself, Eva Green did more than simply hide in the shadows this time. She went all in and delivered a handful of laudable action sequences. Her empathy scenes were equally noteworthy.
The movie's fight choreography had a flair for old-school single-takes, which I adored watching in "Part 2: Milady". Everything about a brewing war, horses, vengeance arcs, intense romances... They all screamed France; historically.
A missing lover, a royal coup, dangerous secrets, deceptive politics, old flames, older pains... Intricacy met suspense in "The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady" and bloomed into captivation.
This second part was somehow better than the first, which I remember thoroughly enjoying. As this movie kept going, the story genuinely felt like it captured an authentic slice of French history when in fact it was all good fiction.
Eagerly do I wait for news of part three. I don't think I'd mind if they went off-book (literally) to finish telling this curiously clever cinematic version featuring the lives and times of four of literature's most famous musketeers, and a certain spy who was also a mother.
--- --- --- Some remarkable performances by Julien Frison (as Gaston de France), Louis Garrel (as Louis XIII), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (as Duc de Buckingham), Lyna Khoudri (as Constance Bonacieux), Ivan Franek (as Ardenza), Eric Ruf (as Le cardinal de Richelieu), Marc Barbé (as Le capitaine de Tréville), Patrick Mille (as Le comte de Chalais), Camille Rutherford (as Mathilde), and Ralph Amoussou (as Idris "Hannibal" Aniba).
It was far from average. In fact they upped the ante and delivered a plot that, though it took plenty of liberties from Alexandre Dumas' original, still managed to convey the core essence of this outstanding tale which has stood the test of time.
The French-language movie "The Three Musketeers: Milady" contained high-octane action, royal court intrigue, and a stunning twist that I'm still surprised I didn't see coming.
Exceptionally characterised and meticulously dramatized, this story and its timeless characters deserve a third round, but I'm not sure how much further the team can go after already having exhausted so much of the source material.
Set in the 1600s and capturing much of the core essence of that era, the movie made plenty of admirable creative decisions to tell the iconic tale of the titular three musketeers, who were later joined by a fourth.
Vincent Cassel as Athos, Pio Marmaï as Porthos, Romain Duris as Aramis, and François Civil as D'Artagnan gave riveting performances that were natural and compelling. They were real and un-glamourized, which was what made these characters seem credible.
As for Milady de Winter herself, Eva Green did more than simply hide in the shadows this time. She went all in and delivered a handful of laudable action sequences. Her empathy scenes were equally noteworthy.
The movie's fight choreography had a flair for old-school single-takes, which I adored watching in "Part 2: Milady". Everything about a brewing war, horses, vengeance arcs, intense romances... They all screamed France; historically.
A missing lover, a royal coup, dangerous secrets, deceptive politics, old flames, older pains... Intricacy met suspense in "The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady" and bloomed into captivation.
This second part was somehow better than the first, which I remember thoroughly enjoying. As this movie kept going, the story genuinely felt like it captured an authentic slice of French history when in fact it was all good fiction.
Eagerly do I wait for news of part three. I don't think I'd mind if they went off-book (literally) to finish telling this curiously clever cinematic version featuring the lives and times of four of literature's most famous musketeers, and a certain spy who was also a mother.
--- --- --- Some remarkable performances by Julien Frison (as Gaston de France), Louis Garrel (as Louis XIII), Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (as Duc de Buckingham), Lyna Khoudri (as Constance Bonacieux), Ivan Franek (as Ardenza), Eric Ruf (as Le cardinal de Richelieu), Marc Barbé (as Le capitaine de Tréville), Patrick Mille (as Le comte de Chalais), Camille Rutherford (as Mathilde), and Ralph Amoussou (as Idris "Hannibal" Aniba).