It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Fresh and Exciting

A Masterpiece!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I admit I'd never seen this version of the Dumas novel before so I had no idea what to expect. Not this though: THE THREE MUSKETEERS is a riotous knockabout comedy that favours the slapstick over the serious and goes for a light, anything-goes tone throughout. If you're looking for something even slightly serious then you'd be best advised to look elsewhere...Michael York is our erstwhile young hero, D'Artagnan, who hooks up with the titular trio in order to battle the nefarious plans of various evil doers, including Christopher Lee's one-eyed baddie, Rochefort. This is an ensemble production, but there's so much talent involved that some don't get a look in. Only Oliver Reed stands out as the boozing fighter, and you barely notice Richard Chamberlain or Frank Finlay.Instead we get long comic routines involving Spike Milligan and Raquel Welch's annoyingly ditzy love interest. The incredible cast includes Joss Ackland, Charlton Heston, Simon Ward, Roy Kinnear, and Geraldine Chaplin in minor roles, a lot of them played for laughs. There's a welter of comedic action to enjoy here, but not much in the way of story; the film was successful enough for a sequel, THE FOUR MUSKETEERS, to follow.

Enjoyable adaptation of the oft-filmed Alexandre Dumas novel. One of the better versions I've seen. I should say upfront that I've never been a huge fan of the story. I read it as a kid before ever seeing any of the movies. It's undeniably a classic but it was never a favorite of mine. This movie is pretty faithful to the book, although there's much more emphasis on comedy. The cast is terrific. Richard Chamberlain, Oliver Reed, and Frank Finlay are great as the title characters. Michael York does a fine job as d'Artagnan. If I had one complaint, it's that d'Artagnan seems a dim-witted rube in his earliest scenes but after becoming friends with the Musketeers, he's suddenly much smarter and more competent. There doesn't seem to be any reason for this beyond "we thought the shtick in the early scenes was funny." Raquel Welch is stunning and quite good in a humorous part. Faye Dunaway is also enjoyable. Christopher Lee and Charlton Heston are fun. Period costumes and sets are nice. Filmed at the same time as its sequel, The Four Musketeers. It's not the kind of movie I rewatch often, but it is entertaining.

The young naive and headstrong Gascon D'Artagnan(York, giving the role the charm it needs) comes to Paris where he falls(one of the two grand romances crucial in the novel, and it's pretty good here... the other one, I will not reveal it here, is great) for Constance(Welch, looking hot if somewhat dim), befriends the three musketeers Athos(Reed, giving the serious and solemn air to him that is called for), Porthos(Finlay being bombastic) and Aramis(Chamberlain, sophisticated) and with them, becomes the best hope for saving his queen(the delicious Chaplin... yes, the daughter of *him*) from the scheming Cardinal Richelieu(a menacing Heston, his piercing eyes hiding countless evil plans), Rochefort(Lee, perfect as a villain, as always) and Milady(icy and seductive Dunaway). The acting is spot-on(apart from the top moments... I'll get to the "humor"). This is immensely close to the book(albeit it of course only covers roughly half of it(hence why some of the aforementioned have little to do in this one), given that it's 625 pages long... I can imagine the concurrently produced sequel covers the rest), some lines of dialog(and wit!) taken nearly verbatim... of course a few characters are combined(also, some developments are changed). The action(fencing aplenty!) tends to be fast and covered well(slightly relative to the time of release), manages to balance the no less than 4 heroes who may be going up against at least one enemy each of their own(without us losing track of where people are, or what situation they are in, and without it feeling like any of them are the least favorite of the editor), incorporates just about the entire main cast(including at least one you wouldn't expect!) at one point or another and features a lot of creative choreography, with, for example, a fight taking place in the dark with both duelers having a lamp they have to find the other person with. This shows upper and lower class alike, and how they amuse themselves(or how hard they work!). Now, as I did in my Superman III review, I must now quote Christopher Reeves(R.I.P.): "director Richard Lester was always looking for a gag". Indeed he was. This is overbearingly full of slapstick, with every. Single. Scene having at least one bit, no matter how little it fits(and how difficult it can make it to get into the supposed tension), few of them funny(albeit you may laugh heartily at those) or well-executed(often it's not clear what the joke is, it passes too fast and is not set up properly), but they sometimes surprise and the energy is certainly strong throughout, save for when this element grinds the movie to a halt. There is a little mild(though bloody) violence in this. The DVD comes with a 2 and a half minute theatrical trailer for this. I recommend this to any fan of the source material and of swashbuckling adventure. 7/10

An opulent farce constructed with a long roster of super Hollywood heavyweights. Filmed on the loveliest of locations the character of the film, peculiarly, comes from it being almost entirely overdubbed. This gives it a surreal feeling, with inserted jokes, in cultured English asides.This doesn't detract from the performances. Raquel Welch and Faye Dunaway are both lovely, the former scatty, the latter catty. Michael Yorke is the green adventure-seeker, the d'Artangnan torn between the two. Richard Chamberlain and Frank Finlay are wonderful amigos but cannot compete with the blasting, hell-for-leather presence of Oliver Reed, so charm their way through their roles. Charlton Heston and Christopher Lee are united as elegant baddies, and Roy Kinnear makes something more than toilet humour of the peasant end of the fun.And then there's the music... ah, the music. Michel Legrand's score might not be the greatest score in cinema but it just happens to be my favourite. 8/10