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Musketeer, The
Universal // PG-13 // February 26, 2002
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
This July marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of famed author Alexandre Dumas. I'm hard-pressed to recall another author outside of Shakespeare whose body of work has inspired so many films and television projects, though perhaps that's just indicative of my ignorance of classic literature. The Internet Movie Database makes mention of over a hundred such productions, and around a third of those are retellings and reimaginings of The Three Musketeers. It inspired the blockbuster film of the same name in 1993, kicking off the Du-mania continued by The Man In The Iron Mask in 1998 and The Count of Monte Cristo just last month. The Musketeer, as the title suggests, is the newest take on what is perhaps Dumas' best known work. The focus this go-around is squarely on D'Artagnan, so much so that his name alone comprised the working title. MCA/Universal, who distributed the film in the United States, wisely recognized that The Musketeer has stronger marquee value.
I'd imagine practically everyone in cyberspace has at least some passing familiarity with the story of The Three Musketeers. I wouldn't mind saving myself a couple of minutes and pointing to an existing summary of the novel, but the filmmakers took enough liberties with the plot that I guess I'm obligated to cobble up my own synopsis. As a child, D'Artagnan watched in horror as a tax collecting thug for the church slew his parents right before his eyes. Despite his tender age, D'Artagnan was able to lash out just enough to blind Febre (Tim Roth) in his left eye, leaving him with a rather nasty scar. Swearing vengeance, the orphan was soon taken under the tutelage of a colleague of his father's, mastering swordplay and fostering an apparent fondness for barrels. (I suppose that comment would be hysterical to anyone who takes the time to watch this movie.) Flashing forward some forgotten number of years later, the highly skilled D'Artagnan travels in order to join the musketeers. Unfortunately, they're all imprisoned or are hopelessly drunken fools. D'Artagnan makes a bold and successful rescue attempt, though he still does not find himself in the favor of many of the musketeers. His status isn't helped much when D'Artagnan is recruited by the musketeers for a crucial mission that he's forced to turn down. D'Artagnan is already obligated to secretly escort the queen and her carp-like young friend (Mena Suvari, who is, of course, the requisite love interest) to Lord Birmingham to stave off an impending war. (For the curious, the philandering in the novel is not present.) Little does D'Artagnan realize that by doing so that he's becoming embroiled in a political war. The dastardly Cardinal Richelieu seeks to discredit the queen and accordingly increase his own power with King Louis XIII. Also making things a little more tantalizing in 17th century France is that Febre -- the man D'Artagnan has spent a lifetime hunting -- is none other than the Cardinal's enforcer. Febre is a loose cannon, though, and even the Cardinal cannot stop his crazed mechanations. D'Artagnan offers a glimmer of hope, and...well, I don't want to spoil the climax. You know the drill, though.
The Musketeer has two things really going for it: great set design and battle sequences choreographed by Xin-Xin Xiong, whose credits include two of Dennis Rodman's ill-conceived attempts at being an action star. That's...really about the extent of it. The only members of the cast who are at all noteworthy are Stephen Rea as the eeeevil Cardinal and, of course, Tim Roth, whose presence is always appropriately menacing. Justin Chambers is just the stock action hero and isn't given anything to do that would require being anything more than that, and Mena Suvari, who doesn't even make an attempt at an accent, seems sorely out of place. Out of curiosity, why do the great majority of these French people have British accents? Hmmm. The occasionally anachronistic dialogue includes references to testicles as "balls". Was that sort of parlance commonplace in the 1600's? On the upside, the action scenes make full use of the scenery and a number of props. Sure, sometimes the presence of the items used in these battles doesn't make much sense, but I guess in these sorts of movies, logic shouldn't come at the expense of excitement. In the final climactic battle, for instance, D'Artagnan battles his nemesis in a large room with somewhere in the vicinity of 8,000 ladders, each even spaced a couple of feet apart. I wasn't on the edge of my seat wondering if D'Artagnan would exact his vengeance and leave happily ever after with his best girl by his side. No, I was trying to imagine what kind of a chamber would require that many ladders. I never did come to any sort of conclusion there, but at least the way in which they're integrated into the lengthy duel is well done. The remainder of the plot seems to exist solely to interconnect these sorts of sequences.
In the end, The Musketeer is not a particularly wonderful movie. Though only a few of the action sequences are really breathtaking, they're executed so well that they alone warrant a rental. Most viewers would be better off, I'd wager, renting any of the number of other films Xin-Xin Xiong has choreographed. They may not be any better, but at the same time, I doubt they'd be significantly worse.
Video: Like the majority of transfers of new releases from major studios nowadays, there aren't any severe issues with this DVD release of The Musketeer. At least, there aren't any problems so severe that they alone would warrant a recommendation to steer clear. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen image looks rather nice, though there are some minor concerns, likely stemming from the way the film was produced, that I should probably rattle off. Aside from a handful of random shots, crispness and clarity are respectable. No print damage or related flaws were spotted throughout, nor was there any haloing significant enough to draw my attention. The opening sequence is grainy and has a tendency to pulsate somewhat, but this would seem to be intentional so as to differentiate D'Artagnan's childhood from the remainder of the film. The rest of The Musketeer exhibits some very light film grain, but nothing in the same ballpark as those early moments. One puzzler, though, would be the raindrops before the assault on the castle. In some shots, the rain appeared as one would expect -- thin and streaky. In most others, they were huge, amorphous blobs that looked like someone with an X-Acto knife decided to etch them into the negative in post-production. It's very distracting, even if that was the intended look of the film. If I were pressed to summarize my thoughts on the quality of the presentation, I'd probably say something along the lines of "good, but not great". Still, I'd imagine that this DVD looks very similar to how the film appeared theatrically, which is all that can be expected.
Audio: There are three six-channel options provided on The Musketeer; English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks as well as an English DTS audio. I've yet to upgrade to a DTS capable receiver and the film's original audio soundtrack seems to be English, so all I gave a listen to was the English Dolby Digital track. The audio is passable but unremarkable, much like the movie itself. Much of the action is certainly anchored towards the front. There are expansive passages where literally nothing is coming from the rear speakers. Take the first visit to the musketeer's pub of choice. D'Artagnan is standing in the middle of a large establishment, with people all around him, chatting loudly and drinking. Yet, there's scarcely a peep until after the 'thunk' of a knife tossed by a musketeer. All of a sudden, the expected crowd noise starts to leak out of the surround channels. Strange. There is better use of separation in the action sequences, though even then it's more heavily geared towards the fronts than surrounds. The LFE is a little too active, though I'd imagine most home theater enthusiasts would disagree that such a thing is humanly possible. Every clomp of horse hooves, the falling of barrels, every punch, fall, what have you...it's all supported by enough bass to cause internal body damage. Aside from being too bass-heavy and seemingly mixed with practically 2.0 stereo in mind, there aren't any issues worth noting.
Supplements: The only extras of any note are a pair of very brief featurettes, which combined run for all of four and a half minutes. One is the aptly-titled "Casting Justin Chambers", and the other examines Xiong and the stunts he choreographed throughout the film. Aside from that, there are just the staples -- production notes, filmographies, and a trailer.
Conclusion: Some of the action sequences in The Musketeer are phenomenal, and in the short time I've owned this disc, I've already shown my favorites to a couple of friends unfortunate enough to stop by my apartment. Those moments alone don't justify a purchase, even at whatever discount that retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City may offer upon its release on February 26th. I do think that The Musketeer would be a decent late-night rental, though nothing more than that. Rent It.
I'd imagine practically everyone in cyberspace has at least some passing familiarity with the story of The Three Musketeers. I wouldn't mind saving myself a couple of minutes and pointing to an existing summary of the novel, but the filmmakers took enough liberties with the plot that I guess I'm obligated to cobble up my own synopsis. As a child, D'Artagnan watched in horror as a tax collecting thug for the church slew his parents right before his eyes. Despite his tender age, D'Artagnan was able to lash out just enough to blind Febre (Tim Roth) in his left eye, leaving him with a rather nasty scar. Swearing vengeance, the orphan was soon taken under the tutelage of a colleague of his father's, mastering swordplay and fostering an apparent fondness for barrels. (I suppose that comment would be hysterical to anyone who takes the time to watch this movie.) Flashing forward some forgotten number of years later, the highly skilled D'Artagnan travels in order to join the musketeers. Unfortunately, they're all imprisoned or are hopelessly drunken fools. D'Artagnan makes a bold and successful rescue attempt, though he still does not find himself in the favor of many of the musketeers. His status isn't helped much when D'Artagnan is recruited by the musketeers for a crucial mission that he's forced to turn down. D'Artagnan is already obligated to secretly escort the queen and her carp-like young friend (Mena Suvari, who is, of course, the requisite love interest) to Lord Birmingham to stave off an impending war. (For the curious, the philandering in the novel is not present.) Little does D'Artagnan realize that by doing so that he's becoming embroiled in a political war. The dastardly Cardinal Richelieu seeks to discredit the queen and accordingly increase his own power with King Louis XIII. Also making things a little more tantalizing in 17th century France is that Febre -- the man D'Artagnan has spent a lifetime hunting -- is none other than the Cardinal's enforcer. Febre is a loose cannon, though, and even the Cardinal cannot stop his crazed mechanations. D'Artagnan offers a glimmer of hope, and...well, I don't want to spoil the climax. You know the drill, though.
The Musketeer has two things really going for it: great set design and battle sequences choreographed by Xin-Xin Xiong, whose credits include two of Dennis Rodman's ill-conceived attempts at being an action star. That's...really about the extent of it. The only members of the cast who are at all noteworthy are Stephen Rea as the eeeevil Cardinal and, of course, Tim Roth, whose presence is always appropriately menacing. Justin Chambers is just the stock action hero and isn't given anything to do that would require being anything more than that, and Mena Suvari, who doesn't even make an attempt at an accent, seems sorely out of place. Out of curiosity, why do the great majority of these French people have British accents? Hmmm. The occasionally anachronistic dialogue includes references to testicles as "balls". Was that sort of parlance commonplace in the 1600's? On the upside, the action scenes make full use of the scenery and a number of props. Sure, sometimes the presence of the items used in these battles doesn't make much sense, but I guess in these sorts of movies, logic shouldn't come at the expense of excitement. In the final climactic battle, for instance, D'Artagnan battles his nemesis in a large room with somewhere in the vicinity of 8,000 ladders, each even spaced a couple of feet apart. I wasn't on the edge of my seat wondering if D'Artagnan would exact his vengeance and leave happily ever after with his best girl by his side. No, I was trying to imagine what kind of a chamber would require that many ladders. I never did come to any sort of conclusion there, but at least the way in which they're integrated into the lengthy duel is well done. The remainder of the plot seems to exist solely to interconnect these sorts of sequences.
In the end, The Musketeer is not a particularly wonderful movie. Though only a few of the action sequences are really breathtaking, they're executed so well that they alone warrant a rental. Most viewers would be better off, I'd wager, renting any of the number of other films Xin-Xin Xiong has choreographed. They may not be any better, but at the same time, I doubt they'd be significantly worse.
Video: Like the majority of transfers of new releases from major studios nowadays, there aren't any severe issues with this DVD release of The Musketeer. At least, there aren't any problems so severe that they alone would warrant a recommendation to steer clear. The 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen image looks rather nice, though there are some minor concerns, likely stemming from the way the film was produced, that I should probably rattle off. Aside from a handful of random shots, crispness and clarity are respectable. No print damage or related flaws were spotted throughout, nor was there any haloing significant enough to draw my attention. The opening sequence is grainy and has a tendency to pulsate somewhat, but this would seem to be intentional so as to differentiate D'Artagnan's childhood from the remainder of the film. The rest of The Musketeer exhibits some very light film grain, but nothing in the same ballpark as those early moments. One puzzler, though, would be the raindrops before the assault on the castle. In some shots, the rain appeared as one would expect -- thin and streaky. In most others, they were huge, amorphous blobs that looked like someone with an X-Acto knife decided to etch them into the negative in post-production. It's very distracting, even if that was the intended look of the film. If I were pressed to summarize my thoughts on the quality of the presentation, I'd probably say something along the lines of "good, but not great". Still, I'd imagine that this DVD looks very similar to how the film appeared theatrically, which is all that can be expected.
Audio: There are three six-channel options provided on The Musketeer; English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks as well as an English DTS audio. I've yet to upgrade to a DTS capable receiver and the film's original audio soundtrack seems to be English, so all I gave a listen to was the English Dolby Digital track. The audio is passable but unremarkable, much like the movie itself. Much of the action is certainly anchored towards the front. There are expansive passages where literally nothing is coming from the rear speakers. Take the first visit to the musketeer's pub of choice. D'Artagnan is standing in the middle of a large establishment, with people all around him, chatting loudly and drinking. Yet, there's scarcely a peep until after the 'thunk' of a knife tossed by a musketeer. All of a sudden, the expected crowd noise starts to leak out of the surround channels. Strange. There is better use of separation in the action sequences, though even then it's more heavily geared towards the fronts than surrounds. The LFE is a little too active, though I'd imagine most home theater enthusiasts would disagree that such a thing is humanly possible. Every clomp of horse hooves, the falling of barrels, every punch, fall, what have you...it's all supported by enough bass to cause internal body damage. Aside from being too bass-heavy and seemingly mixed with practically 2.0 stereo in mind, there aren't any issues worth noting.
Supplements: The only extras of any note are a pair of very brief featurettes, which combined run for all of four and a half minutes. One is the aptly-titled "Casting Justin Chambers", and the other examines Xiong and the stunts he choreographed throughout the film. Aside from that, there are just the staples -- production notes, filmographies, and a trailer.
Conclusion: Some of the action sequences in The Musketeer are phenomenal, and in the short time I've owned this disc, I've already shown my favorites to a couple of friends unfortunate enough to stop by my apartment. Those moments alone don't justify a purchase, even at whatever discount that retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City may offer upon its release on February 26th. I do think that The Musketeer would be a decent late-night rental, though nothing more than that. Rent It.
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