1654. When the titular daughter, Eloise(the stunning Marceau, who takes over her father's arc, and is equally big on honor, justice, and defending the innocent), gets a hint of a conspiracy, she leaves the convent her and her mother were at(...if you aren't safe there, then where?), goes to Paris, has her first suitor(Tavernier, a poet who is not exactly skilled with a weapon; he is the comic relief, and in spite of that, he is seldom annoying, they walk the line of that well), and asks the elder D'Artagnan(Noiret, who recognizes himself as a youth in her... and the two have a great relationship, one of several that are sweet and, as a lot of the humor, very human, very sympathetic... she wants to be as big an adventurer as he was, he wants her to be a woman, and listen to her, and in amongst the expectations, there is clearly a mutual love) for help. He sets about reuniting with Aramis(Frey, the religious and controlling of them) and Porthos(Billerey, always hungry; what of Athos? I won't give that away), (all three of them physically affected by it having been 20 years since they were last swashbuckling) and they will all seek out the mysterious Red Lady. This clearly loves the novels(with many references to them, and not all overt or direct) and wanted to add a new chapter to the overall narrative, that of the next generation, and it succeeds in delivering that and making it compelling. We get an early indication of how far our villains will go(and when you find out what they're doing, it's quite clever, and fairly historically accurate), the gradual build-up to seeing them together rather than immediately showing all of our favorite musketeers, and the fencing is great, both in quality and amount. Nice choreography, and the well-done visual composition of the fights ensures that you never lose track of where everybody is, in relation to each other, and what they're currently doing - even when it involves a dozen people, and they're in a crowded, well-furnished area, like a bar. This keeps to a moderate pace, and one can clearly tell it's French... you can practically smell the environment, sense it right in front of you - with people in the market selling, inside praying or writing, etc., according to the time. The mood is thus set effectively. Their passion is also clear, with several of the well-written characters suddenly bursting into rants, or arguing. And it is evident in the comedy, which I've already mentioned. This balances laughs and tension well. There is a lot of mild violence, a little female nudity(topless, and butt) and sexuality, and, I'm told by the Parents Guide(what? I don't speak it... MF'er), some strong language in this. I recommend this to any and all fans of the Dumas stories. 7/10
Review of Revenge of the Musketeers
