What can be said again about The Three Musketeersnovel by Alexandre Dumas from 1844, read and reread, seen and reviewed, adapted in all possible forms and media, from cinema, to comics, to cartoons, parodied, reread in every possible key?
Probably nothing, but this does not seem to be the purpose of director Martin Bourboulon and screenwriters Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière in bringing yet another adaptation of the literary saga, also made up of the two sequels Twenty years later And The viscount of Bragelonne.
In the pure spirit of the serial novel, forerunner of the modern film-television series, The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan it is the first of two films that bring back to the screen characters who are now archetypal, so well established are their fame in popular culture.
The pace of the narrative is fast from the first scene, with the young D’Artagnan demonstrating his courage, and his recklessness, seriously risking death. Continuing with the Gascon spirit with which he finds himself braggart dueling with his future friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis and so on with the mix of duels, intrigues and love stories that have always left the reader glued to the novel and the viewer to the chair.
The key to reading is to keep what is good in the plot, remembering that the three musketeers, or rather four, are the closest thing to superheroes that French literature has had since the nineteenth century.
Directorically, therefore, there are concessions to modern action, with a nervous handheld camera, excited and immersive moments, and a representation of the seventeenth century less lacquered than seen in other adaptations.
Can you be funny by repeating a well-known story for the umpteenth time? It seems so this time.
A good reconstruction of the environment, a script full of rhythm and almost without breaks contribute to the success and the fun.
To all this we must add the good casting choices, both in the main roles, with authentic stars of French cinema such as Vincent Cassel in the role of Athos, Louis Garrel in that of Louis XIII and Eva Green, perfect Milady. Vicky Krieps also stands out as the Queen of France, Anne of Austria, central to the famous intrigue of the series, and Lyna Khoudri as Constance. François Civil, Romain Duris and Pio Marmaï complete the musketeers quartet in the roles of D’Artagnan, Aramis and Porthos respectively.
It is not a spoiler if I announce that the film, as in the tradition of the feuilleton, ends with a cliffhanger that wants to project the viewer straight into waiting for the sequel. The Three Musketeers – Miladyshot together with this first chapter and whose distribution is expected by the year 2023 in France.
A second chapter also heralded by a scene at the end of the credits, a snack to make the wait impatient.