REVIEW: The Three Musketeers

This weekend I went to the pictures to see The Three Musketeers. I was very skeptical at first, as the film had very bad ratings on IMDB and every review I'd read said it was terrible. There were a few reasons I still wanted to see it, mainly the steampunk elements and Matthew Macfayden playing Athos.
Source: Google Images
The story is not exactly that of Dumas' novel; up until Athos, Aramis and Porthos meet the cocky D'Artagnan everything seems very true to the original story. However, once Buckingham arrives in Paris in an airship, it becomes quite clear that the book has not been the only source of inspiration to the script writers.
Already in the first couple of scenes I realized that maybe I would – once again – have to disagree with the critics. The changes that were made to the original story did not annoy me at all. You should probably watch this film without thinking too much about the book. The anachronisms seemed to be an obstacle to most critics, but I personally really liked the useful gadgets, airships and steampunk elements in general. Another aspect worth mentioning are Milady's clothes; she wears some of the most stunning outfits, and at one point you get to see her fighting in her (more or less historically accurate) undergarments.
Most of the actors did a very good job, especially Orlando Bloom blew me away. I'm usually not a big fan of him, but he excelled at playing bad guy Buckingham. He was so convincing that I found it hard to believe that it was actually him. Also Matthew Macfayden played the part of Athos brilliantly. Last but not least, Mila Jovovich as Milady was definitely a perfect casting. The only part that I found slightly over the top was that of the King. It was endeering at times, but sometimes Freddie Fox took the childishness just a bit too far.
All in all, the film was not deep or philosophical and you should probably not watch it if you can't stand adaptations that change the original story. There were quite a few cliché scenes and conversations, as well. But, apart from those few things, the film was very entertaining, there were epic, endeering and beautiful scenes and every character had an own fascinating story. Not the best film of the year, but definitely worth watching.

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