This was an uneven picture. The sets and costumes were excellent, the cinematography and directing good. The cast was uneven. Ironically, the good and bad casting cut right down the middle: all the bad guys were good actors all the good guys bad.
Tim Curry as Cardinal Richelieu was excellent: sleazy, slimy and elegant. Budding actors take note: one challenge an actor has is when his line is a single word. Study Curry's single line: "Three?".
Michael Wincott entirely complements Curry as Richelieu's evil 'hit man'. His gravely voice lends credence to his heartlessness.
Rebecca de Mornay gives a good performance of a good girl gone bad.
Now to the good guys, our Musketeers. Keifer Sutherland? His casting must be some kind of incestuous Hollywood affirmative action. How else can you explain his non-talent presence? Chris O'Donnell? A pretty faced non-talent.
Oliver Platt? Barely adequate. Too portly and unathletic for an action hero.
Charlie Sheen looks quite handsome with long hair and a goatee. He gives his usual performance, neither good nor bad, merely competent. Unfortunately, his religious fervor is not quite believable.
There is some script failure here. The 'wronged sister' gang, apparently inserted for comic relief, is entirely unnecessary, as the Musketeers are comic enough themselves. Nor is the gang particularly amusing.
The tragic love affair involving the de Mornay character was quite touching in Dumas' original, unfortunately the film makers dropped the ball here. My guess is they substituted action for story development and this fell by the wayside.
Of course, casting the King as a good guy, or any French king, is laughable. Especially amusing for the idealistic values he espouses. All the kings of France got a good laugh at that little speech.
Which leads to the 3rd failure: too much action, i.e. way too many casualties, more than necessary. The sword fighting, except the last scene, was not exceptional. The film makers should have viewed a few Errol Flynn movies first: better fighting, fewer deaths.
What saves this film is the power of Dumas' original story (this is the 4th movie version), the excellent acting of the villains, and the attention to detail, authenticity, costuming and sets.
Tim Curry as Cardinal Richelieu was excellent: sleazy, slimy and elegant. Budding actors take note: one challenge an actor has is when his line is a single word. Study Curry's single line: "Three?".
Michael Wincott entirely complements Curry as Richelieu's evil 'hit man'. His gravely voice lends credence to his heartlessness.
Rebecca de Mornay gives a good performance of a good girl gone bad.
Now to the good guys, our Musketeers. Keifer Sutherland? His casting must be some kind of incestuous Hollywood affirmative action. How else can you explain his non-talent presence? Chris O'Donnell? A pretty faced non-talent.
Oliver Platt? Barely adequate. Too portly and unathletic for an action hero.
Charlie Sheen looks quite handsome with long hair and a goatee. He gives his usual performance, neither good nor bad, merely competent. Unfortunately, his religious fervor is not quite believable.
There is some script failure here. The 'wronged sister' gang, apparently inserted for comic relief, is entirely unnecessary, as the Musketeers are comic enough themselves. Nor is the gang particularly amusing.
The tragic love affair involving the de Mornay character was quite touching in Dumas' original, unfortunately the film makers dropped the ball here. My guess is they substituted action for story development and this fell by the wayside.
Of course, casting the King as a good guy, or any French king, is laughable. Especially amusing for the idealistic values he espouses. All the kings of France got a good laugh at that little speech.
Which leads to the 3rd failure: too much action, i.e. way too many casualties, more than necessary. The sword fighting, except the last scene, was not exceptional. The film makers should have viewed a few Errol Flynn movies first: better fighting, fewer deaths.
What saves this film is the power of Dumas' original story (this is the 4th movie version), the excellent acting of the villains, and the attention to detail, authenticity, costuming and sets.