As in the novel, this is really the story of how the three musketeers became four. Initially, the provincial Charles de Batz de Castelmore D’Artagnan can only secure entry into the King’s military academy, making him a cadet. While pursuing one of the ruffians who attacked him on the road to Paris, D’Artagnan manages to offend Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, all of whom schedule duels with him. Of course, the trio all agree to be each other’s seconds, so all four are together when Richelieu’s guards try to arrest them for dueling. That will be the start of a beautiful friendship.
Soon after D’Artagnan buries the hatchet with the Musketeers (in several of Richelieu’s men), he finds himself racing to save his noble-born new friend from a murder frame-up. It turns out he is the perfect man to do it, because it involves the gang that left him for dead. Of course, their ringleader is literature’s greatest femme fatale, “Milady,” whose boss happens to be the Cardinal.
Her next assignment will be stealing the jeweled necklace Queen Anne gave as a keepsake to her secret English lover, the Duke of Buckingham. To quell the Cardinal’s malicious rumors, the Queen must wear it at the upcoming state wedding of the King’s brother. Fortunately, her servant, Constance Bonacieux, has D’Artagnan’s ear (and his heart), so she can recruit the Musketeers’ assistance.
Screenwriters Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patelliere stay reasonably faithful to Dumas pere, but they add a big climatic battle that looks like it could have been inspired by the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre scene in Queen Margot (also based on a Dumas pere novel). Regardless, they recreate lots of the fighting and scheming that still makes the book fun to read over 150 years after its initial serialization. The swordplay and musketry all look legit, which makes sense, considering French Olympic epee fencer Yannick Borel helped train the cast. (A sabre fencer might have been more appropriate for the props on hand, but Borel’s techniques are surely sound with even a basic foil.)
The casting is also terrific, starting with Vincent Cassel as the steely, righteous-in-a-hardboiled-kind-of-way Athos. Romain Duris is physically perfect as the devout ladies’ man, Aramis, but he has the least screen time out of the four heroes. Pio Marmai is appropriately bear-like as Porthos, without the clownishness shtick the character is often depicted with.
Of course, Eva Green seductive and just generally fab as Milady. Louis Garrel makes Louis XIII surprisingly thoughtful and complex, while Lyna Khoudri’s screen-illuminating charisma is also a real bonus as Bonacieux. Frankly, Francois Civil has his work cut out for him keeping up with his co-stars, but that rather fits his role as the naïve D’Artagnan. Arguably, the only real shortcoming among the ensemble is Eric Ruf not being sufficiently sinister as the dastardly Richelieu.
When it sticks to the original source novel, or material cribbed from Queen Margot and similar pre-2000 sources, Bourboulon’s adaptation works quite well. It has a high body-count and the just-over-two-hours running time gallops along quite swiftly. Recommended for fans of chivalrous action and courtly intrigue, The Three Musketeers-Part I: D’Artagnan opens today in LA at the Laemmle Town Center.
