One for All and All for, Well, You Know

There are a few characters that are capable of headlining their own stories. Looking back at the last few decades, the primary ones were Sherlock HolmesOften cited as the world's greatest (fictional) detective, this character was introduced in 1887 (in A Study in Scarlet) and has gone on to appear in hundreds of stories, films, shows, and more. and DraculaHe's the great undead fiend, the Prince of Darkness, the monster based on a real historical figure. He... is Dracula!. We could point to others, like how for a time superheroes were all the rage and any superhero could lead their own series. Further back that leaderboard would have had classic characters like Robin Hood and King Arthur among their ranks, although their most recent films (like 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword or 2018’s Robin Hood) would seem to say those characters had a shelf life and we’re long past them now. But there will always be a few characters that can lead a movie or show and people will turn out for them.

While they may not have this status on an international level, over in Europe (and more specifically France), The Three Musketeers could certainly be put on that list. The characters originated in Alexandre Dumas famous work, The Three Musketeers, which was the first of three novels that were part of the d'Artagnan Romances. Those novels are wildly popular in their home country, and abroad, and the characters have never lost their appeal for the French, being hailed today and receiving their fair share of adaptations.

One of the most recent of these adaptations was a two-part film titled, of course, The Three Musketeers. The first of the two parts, The Three Musketeers – Part I: D'Artagnan, was released in April of 2023 to much acclaim, and a modest Box Office. It was followed eight months later by its sequel continuation, The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady, although we’ll get to that film in a future review. And it is, by all accounts, a solid adaptation of the source material (currently standing with a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes).

So why has this film flown under the radar for most of us in the Western world? I only heard about it while browsing through HuluOriginally created as a joint streaming service between the major U.S. broadcast networks, Hulu has grown to be a solid alternative to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, even as it learns harder on its collection of shows from Fox and FX since Disney purchased a majority stake in the service., finding the film (and its sequel) available to watch with little fanfare. The reason is likely because the film is French, filmed in the French language and, originally, released in French with a French dub only available later. Getting Americans to pay attention to a foreign film is hard even under the best of circumstances. Getting them to see a film where they actually have to read the dialogue is likely a bridge too far for most viewers. Plus, outside of France, how many people really care about The Three Musketeers. There was that Disney adaptation from 1993, and then The Man in the Iron Mask in 1998, which everyone seemed to hate. Americans just don’t have much appetite for these characters.

Which is sad because, having watched the first half of this double feature, I can attest that this adaptation of The Three Musketeers is a pretty endearing, fun, high quality adventure that definitely treats the characters well. Although not everything is perfect about this production, there’s a lot to love about the film, from its characters to the action, and the production values making it feel like a strong, sumptuous bit of cinema. If you can stand to read your movies, or don’t mind a dub of a film with all the actors seemingly coming back to redo all their own dialogue, then there’s a lot to like with this first of two The Three Musketeers adventures.

Like most adaptations of The Three Musketeers, this first part of the two-parter follows D'Artagnan (François Civil), a young man with dreams of becoming a King’s Musketeer. He gets waylaid at Gascony when he sees a young woman being attacked by ruffians. He’s shot in his attempt at rescuing her, while she is later killed by the bandits. D'Artagnan wakes up in a shallow grave, having been saved by the musket round by the bible he carried with him. He eventually does make it to Paris, though, where he’s able to enlist in the Musketeers, making his dream a reality.

While at the headquarters, though, D'Artagnan spots one of the men he thinks attacked the young woman. In chasing the man down, he has encounters with three Musketeers – Vincent Cassel's Athos, Romain Duris's Aramis, and Pio Marmaï's Porthos – with each introduction ending in an upset party and challenge for a duel. D'Artagnan arrives for the first of the three duels at noon, only then learning that he’s challenged three friends, all of whom are ready to defend their honor from this young lad. However, before they can fight, men sent by Cardinal Richelieu (Éric Ruf) arrive to arrest all of them. Dueling is illegal in Paris, but it’s obvious these men were looking for any excuse to arrest the Musketeers. The four former enemies band together to fight off the Cardinal’s men, letting them bond and become a full team in the process. And when Athos is later framed for murder, it’s up to the remaining Musketeers to clear their friend’s name and bring honor back to their legion.

There is a lot to like about this version of The Three Musketeers. First and foremost are the production values which, again, are sumptuous. Filmed on location in France (of course), the film has full access to all the historical locations that are still standing in the region. This is coupled with fantastic costuming and realistic prop weaponry, all of which helps get the audience absorbed into the time period, losing themselves in the story and setting. Good production values can do a lot to get the audiences invested, and this film has some of the best production values I’ve seen in a while.

Of course, it helps that much of the effects work is practically done. While I’m sure there’s some CGI used in the film, as is so often the case with any cinematic production now, it’s done lightly and sparingly, never drawing the eye to the fakery. Instead we get plenty of actual locations and much in the way of proper, practical effects. Gunpowder is fired, explosions are set off, and everything has a very lived in, real feel to it. While you know you’re watching a film made only a couple of years ago, it does manage to make the 1600s setting of King Louis XIII’s France feel natural and as realistic as any film can be.

There is one massive flaw in this, though: Eva Green’s Milady de Winter. While Green is a fantastic actress, and I do not fault her performance here at all (she is fantastic), her costuming is not. It’s sumptuous, to be sure, but it doesn’t feel in the least bit period-appropriate. Green’s costuming makes her look like a villainess from a late 1800s-set Hammer Horror film, and while it’s really nice looking she always appears like she stepped out of a different film and didn’t have time to change for this movie. I’m not sure why they decided to dress her in this manner – perhaps to make her stick out from all the other characters, which it certainly does – but it doesn’t work in the context of this film.

With that said, she is a great actress and I never mind seeing Eva Green in anything. And, really, the same can be said for all the actors in this production. You’ll likely recognize Civil, Cassel, and Green from one or more mainstream works they’ve done over the years, and while the rest of the main cast have largely stuck to French films, that doesn’t make their work any less interesting. This is a great cast backed by a solid production, adapting one of the most famous (French) stories around, and they do a great job.

The best thing I can say is that despite my general disinterest in The Three Musketeers (I thought the Disney production was lightweight but fun, and that was as much as I cared to watch of these characters), this film did enough to make me want more. I’m looking forward to diving into the second part of this duo (which is also available on Hulu), and if there are further films or shows developed in this world (which, looking into it, does seem to be the case) I’ll happily check those out as well. This film is solid, and I do hope more people finally get to take notice of it outside of its home country.