‘The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan’ is a boisterous reinterpretation of Alexandre Dumas historical adventure novel. Following d'Artagnan (François Civil) as he makes his way from Gascony to Paris in hopes of joining the Musketeers of the Guard, the young man is met with intrigue, conspiracies against the king and adventure.
Finding his way into the Musketeers headquarters, d’Artagnan unwittingly offends three separate musketeers - Athos (Vincent Cassel), Porthos (Pio Marmaï) and Aramis (Romain Duris). Agreeing to duel each of them, d’Artagnan is surprised to see all three turn up at the initial duel with Porthos and Aramis serving as Athos’ seconds. Unable to fight, the quartet is ambushed by Cardinal Richelieu's (Éric Ruf) guards as they attempt to break up the illegal duelling.
Forming a bond, the three musketeers admire d’Artagnan’s fearlessness, and the foursome spend the evening drinking and bonding. A set-up the following morning lands Athos in prison as he has been framed for the murder of a young woman, setting the other three to uncover the truth, leading them to discover a plot against Louis XIII with Milday (Eva Green) and Richelieu at the heart of the plot.
Capturing the magic of the time of musketeers, the film transports the viewer to a different era, delivering beautiful imagery through architecture, sets and costumes providing for an atmosphere of a bygone era where bravery and honour were of the utmost importance.
Encapsulating the magic of the story, Civil delivers d’Artagnan as a wide-eyed yet intrepid young man, aspiring to serve the king and his country through becoming a musketeer. He emanates positivity and valour in everything he does, when courting Constance (Lyna Khoudri), pursuing Green’s Milady or when planning ahead and fighting with the musketeers.
Focusing on d’Artagnan’s journey, the film also finds time to give us a little dirt on the other musketeers. Touching briefly on Duris’ Aramis as somewhat of a womanizing menace and Marmaï’s Porthos as an affable brother in arms with bisexual proclivities, the two aid d'Artagnan and form a resourceful trio in aid of Athos. Cassel has a little more heavy lifting to do as the film covers Athos’ dark past and his regret of having betrayed his love. Digging a little deeper into the character, Cassel delivers an honourable yet poignant musketeer.
Conversely, the duo of antagonists, Milady and Cardinal Richelieu provide for daring and baleful opponents, as Ruf’s Richelieu exudes menace and a quiet threat to the king, whilst Green’s femme fatale delivers a formidable adversary as she goes head to head with d’Artagnan. Beautiful and cunning, Green delivers Milady as a formidable foe as she fights and seduces her way to her targets. Resilient and unyielding, Green’s performance promises an exciting second act in the film to follow.
With the promise of an exciting continuation of the novel, the film has done a great service to provide for a joyful and entertaining time, seemingly flying by and keeping every moment captivating. Having established a fun-loving and loyal crew of musketeers with intimidating adversaries, Martin Bourboulon has delivered an enthralling and exciting adaptation of the source material, with the promise of ‘The Three Musketeers: Milady’ to carry on and echo the good-spirited fun as the director helms the continuation of the saga.
Score: 4/4
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