A slightly lacking but generally sound updating of the classic swashbucklers of yesteryear, this action-packed offering proves to be a revitalised updating of the classic Alexandre Dumas tale, and as such would doubtlessly go hand-in-hand with the other recent French offering, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. The plot is involved but light at the same time, basically revolving around a series of fights, battles, and skirmishes, with some characters standing out from the crowd. The major musketeers are in the background now, however, to make way for fresh-faced newcomer D'Artagnan to cut, thrust and parry his way through the opposition until he reaches the treacherous Man in Black (a splendidly pantomime performance from Tim Roth).The supporting cast is generally left in the background, although there are dozens of familiar British faces in the crowd – keep an eye out for Bill Treacher (for UK readers, the late Arthur in EASTENDERS) as a weaselly peeping tom! Others like Nick Moran and Stephen Rea fill out showy roles, and Mena Suvari is around as the love interest, looking as lovely as ever but with even less to do than as per usual. One void in the film is Justin Chambers, who just doesn't cut it as the supposedly dashing hero D'Artagnan, and is hopelessly miscast. In some cases this film is pretty weird – the opening titles are the cheapest ever but stick with them, because the film isn't really that bad, I promise. In other areas the editing is poor and the dialogue, to be frank, sucks. But as I mentioned before, the action is agreeable, especially the opening and closing fight scenes (choreographed by a Hong Kong veteran no less). In particular the ladder fight at the close is fantastic stuff, ending things on a high.

There are some wonderful actors in this interpretation of Alexander Dumas' classic novel--Tim Roth, Stephen Rea, Catherine Deneuve--but sadly the star of the film is Justin Chambers, a young man whose acting is so wooden that you can almost see termites gnawing on him during close-ups. The Three Musketeers themselves are a total afterthought, getting little screen time and absolutely zero character set-up or development. They may as well not be in the film at all. As usual, Roth makes a gourmet meal out of store brand ingredients, and Rea and Deneuve do what they can with their undercooked roles.The film's "hook" was that its action sequences were choreographed by Xin-Xin Xiong, a well known Hong Kong stunt man. Unfortunately it's poorly shot, with much of the action taking place in dimly lit rooms and seemingly edited with a Cuisinart. Two of the scenes are moderately entertaining--a duel between d'Artagnan and some thugs at a pub, and then the final duel between he and Roth's Febre using a series of ladders. But even if you can swallow its video gamey quality, it's not enough--not nearly enough--to save this wretched effort.

Loosely based on Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure novel "The Three Musketeers," 2001's "The Musketeer" stars Justin Chambers as d'Artagnan who, as a kid, witnesses his parents murdered by the wicked Febre (Tim Roth). As a young man seeking justice, he travels to Paris and hooks up with the three Musketeers (Nick Moran, Steve Speirs and Jan-Gregor Kremp). Meanwhile he takes a fancy to fiery chambermaid, Francesca (Mena Suvari), who is the daughter of the deceased seamstress to the Queen (Catherine Deneuve). Stephen Rea plays the corrupt and despicable Cardinal Richelieu.While people love to loathe this film I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was directed by Peter Hyams (director of 1999's "End of Days") and comes across as a less-grim Conan tale switched to 17th century France and plays like 1995's "Rob Roy" with a kinetic Indiana Jones flair, albeit set in France rather than Scotland. The tone is essentially realistic until the swashbuckling scenes take place, which are dynamic, but totally over-the-top.If you're a fan of the Conan, Rob Roy, Indiana Jones, Sinbad and Zorro flicks I think you'll appreciate this movie. It's as good or better than most of them. No kidding. Beyond the thrilling action sequences, there are a number of great or near-great elements: Chambers plays a great protagonist and Roth the perfect villain, the latter proved in "Rob Roy" (he's just as wicked here). Not to mention, the lovely Mena is formidable as the babe. But it's the excellent sets and mood that I like most – the cobblestone streets, torches, horses & carriages, villages, castles and 17th century costuming. It's inexplicable that Chambers didn't go on to become a star, like Brad Pitt. The film runs 100 minutes and was shot in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.GRADE: B+

The actor playing D'Artagnan is a weird mix of charisma and banality but this is a thoroughly entertaining movie thanks to the period feel, Tim Roth's dastardly villain, the talent of the supporting cast, the execution of the action scenes, and the wit in the dialogue and certain scenes - alligators in the sewers is a nice, knowing touch. The fact the fight scenes are kung fu with swords is okay. Gene Kelly as an athletic D'Artagnan back in the great days of Hollywood established one template; Richard Lester's two Three Musketeer films with Michael York as D'Artagnan established another, witty, historically accurate template. The Young Guns guys didn't do a bad job and there have been numerous other versions - did I dream a terribly overweight (but still wonderful) Gerard Depardieu as Porthos in one version?So - I've seen many a Three Musketeers film and this does not disgrace itself in their company.But tell me again: how come musketeers - who, er, fire muskets/rifles - are always so great with a sword?