Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

When Richard Lester found out that he had too much footage to tell the entire novel by Alexandre Dumas, he did what any sensible Hollywood director would do, he turned it into a sequel. Taking a natural breaking point in the story, we get the conclusion of the novel with stunning effect, a lot of stunts, return of the knockout cast, and a feeling of satisfaction by the end.

With D'Artagnan (Michael York) now a King's Musketeer, and more or less permanently with the lovely if addle-brained Constance (Racquel Welch), we pick up the story. Along with his companions, Athos (Oliver Reed), Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) and Porthos (Frank Finlay), he's off to the seige of La Rochelle, where rebellious Heugenots are battling the King's forces. There we are treated to one of the most energetic champagne breakfasts that I have ever seen, and some true cavalier attitudes about how to do something just the right way. But young D'Artagnan has made some dangerous enemies, and the skilled Rochefort (Christopher Lee) and Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway) have decided to make it personal. And it's the hapless Constance that they use as a pawn to get to D'Artagnan.

Soon enough, D'Artagnan is under Milady's seductive spell, and even his three friends wonder if he'll turn to the Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston) to further his career. Along the way we get some great stuntwork, including some intense fighting on a frozen pond, in a burning barn, and dueling in a church. One of the funniest sequences involve a pair of stilts, Constance, and a musketeer.

There's also some grimmess to this one, as we learn about Athos' past and who he really is, told in flashbacks, and how he's connected to Milady. This is what made the film interesting to me, as Reed makes it convincing, with much more interest than Keifer Sutherland did in the recent Disney version of this. Hollywood has this odd trait that they have to aim their historical films to a younger audience and/or make it ridiculous to make the film appealing. Happily, with this one, director Richard Lester proves them all wrong.

There is a higher level of sexual content, nudity, and violence in this one, especially towards the end of the film. I won't reveal what it is here, since I feel that it would spoil the film for anyone who hasn't seen it, but it is also not for younger children. Milady in particular is chilling in this one, as she persues her schemes in sometimes gruesome fashion.

Still, great swordplay, accurate costumes, not too many anachronisms, and a rich retelling of the classic novel.

Some sequels have been made from this, most notably Return of the Musketeers, which reunited the cast, but was an extremely feeble and sloppy TV film. I would suggest reading Dumas' Musketeer trilogy: The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Man in the Iron Mask. If you want a good film version of the last novel, I'd suggest the TV movie that was made with Richard Chamberlain in the dual role of Philippe/Louis and skip the D'Caprio one.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older