The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – D’Artagnan arrives in Paris trying to find his attackers after being left for dead, which leads him to a real war where the future of France is at stake. He aligns himself with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, three musketeers of the King.

My Take – Among the dozen of notable works he has written, indeed French author Alexandre Dumas‘ 1844 novel The Three Musketeers continues to be his most popular work, after all it has been adapted for feature production at least 40 times. Told and retold in every possible way, including a Disney version which saw Mickey Mouse at the helm.

Sadly, none of these versions have managed to reach the acclaim of the Richard Lester directed 1973 classic and the popularity of the 1993 version starring Charlie Sheen and Kiefer Sutherland. Particularly the Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evil) directed 2011 film, which failed both critically and commercially.

Thankfully, the French have finally reclaimed their classic novel for a two-part epic (the second part, The Three Musketeers: Milady, arrives at the end of 2023), and in the hands of director Martin Bourboulon, who tweaks and modernizes certain aspects of the plot along with writers Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, the adaption results in an action-packed rollicking historical romp.

Touted as the most expensive French production of the year, the film has everything we need from a contemporary entertainer based on a nineteenth-century classic from courageous soldiers, treacherous courtiers, conspiracies, assassination plots to handsome production designs and gorgeous costumes.

Most importantly it has an eminent cast, which includes the like of Eva Green, Vincent Cassel, and Vicky Krieps, that ensure that one engages in the duels of swords and the giddy fun from start to finish.

Sure, with even more conspiracy than usual, the plot’s many threads are occasionally muddled, in ways that will hopefully be untangled in the second part, but it’s hard to care about whether the details make sense when it’s all eye-popping and visually intriguing.

Set in the 17th century, the story follows D’Artagnan (François Civil), a young man from Gascony, who is traveling to Paris to join the Musketeers of the Guard, when he comes upon a murderous scuffle. Though he fails, the moment proves significant later on when he reaches the capital city. Where all is not well during the reign of King Louis the XIII (Louis Garrel), who has to deal with the religious divide between Catholics in France and Protestants backed by England. Though he leans towards peace, those around him are keen on war.

Particularly his most trusted advisor Cardinal Richelieu (Eric Ruf), who along with his arch-assassin Milady (Eva Green), is planning to expose the affair between Queen Anne (Vicky Krieps) and the Duke of Buckingham (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd). Luckily for D’Artagnan, he ends up making acquaintance, following three continuous misunderstandings, with Athos (Vincent Cassel), Aramis (Romain Duris) and Porthos (Pio Marmaï), famously known as the three musketeers, to defeat the men from the Cardinal’s guard and foil the nefarious plans in motion.

Energetically acted and solidly engaging, this is what big studio blockbusters used to feel like, stories that don’t reinvent the wheel but provide plenty of entertainment, and director Bourboulon boasts all of that and more. The lavish-looking film is light in tone and big on the repartee, skipping merrily between exposition and breathless action.

Here, director Bourboulon hews close to Dumas‘s novel for iconic moments like D’Artagnan’s rash introduction to his fellows, and Athos’s backstory. He draws out timely questions of religious and political paranoia to give depth to the effectively chaotic fight scenes, shot in long swooping takes, and adds some modern resonance. There are long immersive tracking shots with layers of action unspooling and impressive settings are lit, sometimes by candlelight, to their full advantage.

The underlying conspiracy presented is equally intriguing. It keeps you guessing and gives you the impression of a mounting threat to the plot. Unfortunately, given that it ends on a cliffhanger, that element felt let down a little by the finale, and although it does have me intrigued for the second picture.

François Civil makes for a superb lead, all youthful impetuosity and charm, and brings all he passion, naivety and pride necessary to play D’Artagnan. Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris and Pio Marmaï are delightful to watch, and all three performers bring a certain conviction that makes them appear more seasoned and mature. Eva Green is as excellent as she always is.

Vicky Krieps makes the Queen a layered character that she easily might not have been, Lyna Khoudri proves to be a compelling love interest for D’Artagnan, and Jacob Fortune-Lloyd is really good too as Buckingham. Eric Ruff in Cardinal Richelieu has an incredible charisma. Louis Garrel manages to add considerable depth to King Louis XIII. On the whole, ‘The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan’ is a lavish enjoyable historical romp with tons of swash-buckling action.