The Three Musketeers

The Three Musketeers and I go way, way back. I can still remember discovering Alexandre Dumas's novels in middle school. The adventures of Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan rocked my world. A classic bromance, no? *wink* This afternoon I saw the latest big-screen adaptation of this classic brothers-in-arms saga, and while I thoroughly enjoyed it, I can only shake my head in mystification that Hollywood is apparently unable to produce a straight-forward adaptation of the novel. Why, I have no clue -- it's not like Dumas didn't already liberally douse his fiction with loads of drama.

ANYWAYS -- this version of The Three Musketeers is very much in the mold of Pirates of the Caribbean or the big-screen Sherlock Holmes. The current trend in Hollywood seems to require adding a steampunk-type vibe to any costume drama. Don't misunderstand me -- I'm not complaining, I love all of the aforementioned films. If you appreciate the source material and have a healthy appreciation for the ridiculous, this film delivers in spades. The costumes, settings, and the cast -- this is a gloriously rendered slice of eye candy full of glitz, humor, and best of all, hot guys who like to wear cloaks and fight with swords. MEN WITH SWORDS!!! WIN!! :)

I thought it was fascinating how the film chose to remain faithful or wildly deviate from the source material. I was rather surprised that they kept the idea of a relationship between Buckingham and Queen Anne intact, though in this case it is entirely fabricated for the sake of a European power struggle. Also, we're given Matthew Macfadyen as a deliciously angsty, brooding Athos, who apparently rocks seventeenth-century diving gear. He also has a past with Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich), only in this case they were never married -- and she was never "just" a spy (think Lara Croft -- I think Jovovich was channeling her inner Angelina Jolie for this role). Among the current crop of actors I can't imagine anyone better than Macfadyen as Athos -- he's almost so serious its as if he's parodying his earlier romantic roles (such as Darcy in Pride and Prejudice).

Any adaptation of The Three Musketeers rises or falls on the chemistry between the four male leads -- and Macfadyen's Athos is superbly supported by Ray Stevenson as the gregarious Porthos and Luke Evans (SWOON!!) as the (ex? how exactly does that work?) priest/lover Aramis. Stevenson appeared earlier this year in Thor as Volstagg, Thor's "mighty man" who loves to eat. *wink* He brings such a great sense of humor to these roles -- his Porthos may very well be my favorite on-screen incarnation of the character. As to Luke Evans...oh my word, I want to write the man an ode. He deserves it. Evans's career is, I suspect, on the brink of exploding -- he first came to my attention as Apollo in Clash of the Titans, and looking forward he gets a promotion to Zeus in Immortals, which will be followed by Bard the Bowman in The Hobbit films (I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT THAT!). Evans really knows how to rock wearing black leather (just being honest here), and he brings this great sense of world-weariness and intelligence to the role of Aramis. Look for the scenes where he's wearing wire-rimmed glasses - ADORABLE. FREAKING ADORABLE. I could watch him all day. :)

Mads Mikkelsen as the Musketeers' nemesis Rochefort, head of the Cardinal's guard, also deserves an ode singing his praises. I love Mikkelson, ever since he played Tristram in King Arthur I'm thrilled whenever he shows up on-screen. Mikkelsen looks quite dashing in Rochefort's eyepatch, and I thoroughly enjoyed his final fight with D'Artagnan. Listening to Mikkelsen growl his way through a scene never gets old. *wink*

I was a little concerned about Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan, as the only thing I'd really seen him in prior to this film was the Percy Jackson film (which, inexplicably, is getting a sequel). I don't know how much, if any, of his own stunt work Lerman performed, but the end result on-screen is a ton of fun to watch. He manages to hold his own opposite a slew of seasoned (and frankly, hotter) actors -- I was pleasantly surprised. I thought it was hilarious that he seemed to be taking his cues for D'Artagnan's portrayal from co-star Orlando Bloom's appearance in the Pirates franchise. In fact, this whole film owes a RIDICULOUS debt to Pirates of the Caribbean, from D'Artagnan doing his best to mimic Will Turner's heroics, to the flipping AIR SHIP BATTLE OVER PARIS. Yes, really. Pirate ships with hot air balloons in the sails, I never thought I'd see the day. LOL!

Speaking of Orlando Bloom, he was absolutely HILARIOUS as the villainous Duke of Buckingham. Bloom clearly put all the years he had to observe Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow into good use. Every time he appeared on-screen he chewed the scenery with ridiculous gusto. I have to give Bloom credit, he played the megalomaniacal villain role to the hilt, and really seemed to relish the opportunity. Not to mention the fact that he owned the clothes and that crazy pompadour hairstyle. On the other side of the villain equation, Christoph Waltz (seen earlier this year in Water for Elephants) played a wonderful Cardinal Richelieu -- chilling when required, and oh-so-adept at doing whatever is politically expedient in order to survive. I feel like he was a bit under-used, though -- but if this turns into a franchise (as the last scene in the film suggest that is the hope of the filmmakers), hopefully he'll be given the chance to really unleash Richelieu.

Two more quick casting notes -- I thought Louis XIII looked vaguely familiar throughout the entire film. Turns out Louis was played by Freddie Fox, the nephew of none other than James Fox, which makes him Laurence Fox's COUSIN! THERE'S A HATHAWAY CONNECTION!!! Freddie's acting debut was also in the Miss Marple episode Why Didn't They Ask Evans? I have to wonder how much ribbing poor Freddie is going to take for his *ahem* colorful costumes in this flick. Thank goodness my Musketeers didn't have to wear colored tights. *whew* Also, it was fantastic to see James Corden as Planchet, the Musketeers' servant. Corden should be instantly recognizable to fans of Doctor Who as he's appeared in two of Matt Smith's best episodes, The Lodger and Closing Time. Corden was HILARIOUS, the perfect foil for his grouchy masters.

The Three Musketeers is a heck of a lot of fun -- it has a total summer blockbuster vibe, with lots of action and explosions and gorgeous costumes, with the bonus of classic characters to draw in the lit-loving crowd like yours truly. *wink* I was rather suprised that director Paul W. S. Anderson is perhaps best known for directing flicks like Resident Evil prior to this outing. He keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, a really enjoyable mash-up of historical drama and modern flash. Perhaps most shockingly, Anderson has a script to work with that was co-written by Andrew Davies -- yes, the Andrew Davies. I have NO idea what the heck Davies was doing "slumming" with this project (do you think he's depressed about Julian Fellowes's success with Downton Abbey? HA!!!), but perhaps he's to thank for any resemblance to Dumas's novel. And the score was FABULOUS -- written by Paul Haslinger, it had all of the pomp and drama one could wish for as the soundscape to an adventure of this kind.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers starring a pre-24 Kiefer Sutherland as Athos and a pre-crazy Charlie Sheen as Aramis -- and I think a part of the reason I liked this new version so much is because it seems to possess the same zany spirit as its predecessor, gleefully tweaking the story to suit its purposes while giving the audience plenty of swordfights and heroics. This movie was a lot of fun -- and while I don't think it *needs* to be franchised, I'm not going to complain if the sequel Buckingham practically begs for at the end of the film pans out -- because this motley crew was a whole lot of fun to spend an afternoon with. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

And because I CAN... :)

The Three Musketeers - New Trailer!

I want to thank Charleybrown at Enchanted Serenity for posting the brand-new trailer for the upcoming The Three Musketeers film, due out this fall. Let's watch, shall we?



Doesn't this look AWESOME?! Little besides the character names resembles Alexandre Dumas's classic novel, but I for one say who the heck cares? This promises to be ridiculously fun. :)

Side note: It appears that this "adaptation" (I use that term very, very loosely) promises to be even more over-the-top, ridiculous, and less like its source material than my much-loved and deliciously cheesy 1993 version. Thoughts?

Now let's take a look at the movie poster:

I don't know about you, but love this. It reminds me of the posters artist Drew Struzan created for Star Wars, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones.

The expression on Orlando Bloom's face just cracks me up. There the Duke of Buckingham is, in all his glory, smirking - "Look at me, I'm hot, I moonlight as an elf and fly hotair balloon warships and chew scenery for a living. Matthew Macfadyen's got NOTHING on me." *wink*

Speaking of Matthew Macfadyen, for all the attention he's getting in the press for this film by having Athos narrate the trailers, why the heck does he look so ridiculous on this poster? "Check this out, I have a sword! I'm not really sure what to do with it but I'm pretty sure I look hot so my fans won't care." :P

I'm a little worried about Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan thanks to this latest trailer and the poster image. It's fearfully apparent that he's going to be squashed by the combined forces of Bloom, Macfadyen, and every other man in this film. But maybe that's just me. Too bad though that the poor guy looks so - um, vacant? - on the poster. "Check me out, I'm so hot - no, literally hot in all this leather. Women will love me and somehow magically overlook my HORRIBLE HAIR."

It's great to see Christoph Waltz as Richelieu, I think he will be suitably imposing and villainous, and Ray Stevenson should turn in an excellent performance as Porthos. I do wish Mads Mikkelson was getting more time in the press materials as Rochefort, I love that guy. And based on the poster alone I am THRILLED with the casting of Luke Evans as Aramis. Evans has got that two-fisted sword thing DOWN.

So, who else is looking forward to this version of The Three Musketeers? I'd love to hear your thoughts! And to fans of the story, what's your favorite film version to date? I alternate between the aforementioned 1993 version and the 1948 version where Gene Kelly played D'Artagnan. Oddly enough now that I think about it, that latter version might just be the most faithful adaptation of the book that I've seen. Thoughts?

Thor

I have clearly underestimated the hold Kenneth Branagh has on my psyche. When the Thor trailer was released a few months ago, all I could do was laugh. Odin repossessing THE HAMMER cracks me up. But when I discovered that Tom Hiddleston played a major role in this movie, and Rachel kept reminding me of the Branagh Factor, and Kaye kept exclaiming CHRIS HEMSWORTH!!, I decided I had to go. After all, my dad is extremely proud of his Danish Viking heritage, so this movie is practically a cultural necessity in my life.

Growing up, movies like The Vikings, starring Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas, were regularly viewed - after all, when you stop and think about it, there really aren't all that many movies out there that center on Viking types (TRAGIC OVERSIGHT, HOLLYWOOD!). So, given the fact that Odin in a major player in Thor got me to thinking about all of the times people scream for "ODIN!!!!" in The Vikings. Thankfully for you, some kind soul on YouTube uploaded this priceless montage:



You're welcome for that. :) So, now's the point I tell you that yes, there are times when Thor really is as cheesy as those clips. But I really liked it nonetheless. :)

So as a kid I was a big Justice League girl, and didn't really know anything about Marvel's The Avengers until the Iron Man movies came out, and I developed this thing for Tony Stark, and talk of any Avengers film began to take shape. Now, I have very little knowledge of Thor's comic-book background. In fact, even after seeing this movie I have got to say he still strikes me as an odd superhero to stand alongside the likes of more - mortal or self-made, I guess is the classification I'm looking for - superheroes like Iron Man and Captain America. If anything he's more of a Superman type.


"Do you like my hammer?"

Branagh's film is a sort of mash-up of Superman and Clash of the Titans (alternating between the original and the much cooler, more watchable remake). It's impossible not to think of Olympus when viewing this film's glossy, star-strewn recreation of Asgard, the headquarters of the Norse gods. There's lots of sturm und drang in the Asgard universe, as Odin's sworn enemies THE FROST GIANTS OF JOTUNHEIM (yes, really) conduct a successful raid on the Asgardian stronghold. This does not go over well with Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Odin's (Anthony Hopkins) heir-apparent, who wants to go and remind the Jotuns who's boss. Daddy Odin does not approve, as he wishes his firstborn would show a little more prudence and realize that kings should not simply go around knocking in the heads of anyone who looks at them cross-eyed. But since Thor thinks he knows best, he takes his crew - brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the "warriors three" (wait for it) - Fandral the Dashing (Josh Dallas), Hogun the Grim (Tadanobu Asano), and Volstagg the Volumunous (Ray Stevenson, who's playing Porthos in the upcoming The Three Musketeers) - and the warrior maiden Sif (Jaime Alexander) to "talk" to the Jotuns, and to make a long story short, things don't go well and Odin has to ride in to save the day.

Hoping to teach his arrogant, cocky, jolly Viking princeling some humility, Odin strips Thor of his godlike powers, which are all wrapped up in the gigantic hammer named MJOLNIR (yes really), and exiles him to Earth. There he runs into (literally) Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a brilliant scientist type researching the idea of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge (which I know all about thanks to season four of Eureka), and finds Thor's abs a bit distracting. Her colleague, Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) finds Thor's delusions of Norse god grandeur a bit troubling, and knows an awful lot about S.H.I.E.L.D., the mysterious federal agency he's understably wary of butting heads with. There's also a plucky graduate student assistant sidekick, Darcy (Kat Dennings), who provides occasional moments of comic relief (in addition to the Vikingish shenanigans, mind). They must all band together as Thor seeks to recover his powers, care about others, and save mankind and the Nine Realms from his crazy brother Loki (who, SHOCKER!!, isn't really his brother). I LOVE FAMILY DRAMA IN SUPERHERO MOVIES!

Anthony Hopkins was awesome as Odin - if you want to lend a movie with a potentially ridiculous superhero gravitas, clearly it is necessary to cast someone like Hopkins in the mentor role. And I have to give a shout-out to Rene Russo as Thor's momma, Frigga, because that is a flipping awesome name. If you don't get to do much in Asgard, well the name more than makes up for it.

The only thing I've seen Chris Hemsworth in prior to Thor is his brief appearance as Kirk's father in the last Star Trek (and sadly for him, he didn't even merit a mention in my review). Physically he fits the role of Thor perfectly, but I have to admit that for the first hour or so I was a little worried he was only capable of brawn, and entirely lacking in brain cells. But as the film progresses and Thor is humbled and becomes willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, the character actually became a superhero I rather cared about. And really at the end of the day what's not to like about a guy who can pull of a dashing red cape with such aplomb? Anyways - as is the norm with Branagh's films, Thor is liberally sprinkled with light comic touches, and Hemsworth reveals a decent aptitude for comedy, especially playing the straight man in all of Thor's "fish out of water" scenes as he learns Earth ways (like how to order a second cup of coffee). Incidentally, Hemsworth is the brother of Liam, who made a good impression on me last year in The Last Song. Talented family. :)

I was a little worried Natalie Portman's Jane might prove annoying, but Portman seems to be having fun with the role and she's always struck me as being highly intelligent, so she fits her character's occupation rather well. She and Hemsworth have some decent on-screen chemistry (really I would worry about Portman if she didn't with Hemsworth! *wink*), and I really got a kick out of Jane's reaction to Thor's chivalrous language and rather "courtly" demeanor, especially when he kisses her hand (twice! what a lost art! *swoon*). And I loved the fact that Jane's the one who kisses him at the end of the movie - and the ending, oh the diehard romantic sap in me LOVED it. Separated by a broken wormhole, a desolate Thor is assured by the stoic gatekeeper Heimdall (Idris Elba) that his lady-love has not forgotten him and is working tirelessly to find a way to Asgard. *swoon again* I'm convinced only Branagh could've successfully directed such a gloriously over-the-top romantic lovers-across-time-and-space moment like it.

Tom Hiddleston proves to be a frankly inspired casting choice as Loki. He's lean to Hemsworth's brawn, and his angular features and lithe appearance fit the role of "god of mischief" PERFECTLY. Hiddleston should be a familiar face to Masterpiece fans (and blog readers), as I loved him in Return to Cranford and Wallander. Hiddleston to his everlasting credit is wholly believable right from the start of the film - he really seems to relish playing the conflicted, over-looked second son and bad guy, and isn't at all put off by the ridiculous headgear he gets to sport for the climatic fight with Thor. Speaking of the fight, please, for the love of all that's good and holy in comic book movieland, please work on Thor's flying skills for The Avengers. Because I did not like finally getting to a place where I could take Thor (relatively) seriously, only to be forcibly reminded of Superman circa-1978 when he started to glide...I mean fly. AWKWARD.

One of my favorite characters from the Iron Man movies is Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) from S.H.I.E.L.D. Gregg is amazing, he brings whole new, delightful levels of snarkiness and sarcasm to the screen, like his exchange with a captured Thor after the god's failed attempt to retrieve his hammer - Coulson is equal parts disgusted by the ease with which Thor dispatched his agents and intrigued. I just love how Coulson is completely unflappable by pretty much anything (except perhaps Asgard's Destroyer, which is sort of like Iron Man without the man inside). I want to write the man an ode. Heck, I want a whole movie dedicated to Agent Coulson's background and how he came to be involved in S.H.I.E.L.D. During the S.H.I.E.L.D. scenes, look for a brief Jeremy Renner cameo - I'm so, SO happy Renner is going to be appearing in The Avengers as Hawkeye next year.

2nd gratuitous Agent Coulson pic!

The more I think about it, the more I realize it's glaringly apparent Branagh was the perfect choice to direct a film on the origins of a superhero from Norse mythology. No man-made superhero would do for Branagh - something about tapping into ancient Norse gods just screams for Branagh's flair for Shakespearean drama. He keeps the action moving at a brisk pace, and injects a healthy dose of humor into the film to keep things interesting. I was thrilled that once again he worked with longtime musical collaborator Patrick Doyle, who provides a gorgeous, epic score.

(Side note: I couldn't decide which poster I preferred. Thoughts?) Thor was an unexpectedly fun diversion, and I'm looking forward even more to Captain America's release in July. Little beats a good comic book movie for for a thoroughly entertaining summertime diversion. Thor delivers in spades with an old-fashioned adventure movie sensibility, lots of humor and heart, and an entertaining myth arc (and goodness knows I love a good myth arc and heroic journey rife with sacrifice and angst). If you've seen the film, I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)