While Director Richard Lester was filming "The Three Musketeers", he realized that he had too much footage for one film. What to do? Break the story into two films, and release them one year apart.
While technically a sequel, "The Four Musketeers" is really the second half of "The Three Musketeers". A brief narration to "The Four Musketeers" attempts to explain the characters and their motives, but someone who has not recently seen "The Three Musketeers" is certain to become confused. It doesn't help that at the end of "The Four Musketeers", there are scenes excerpted from "The Three Musketeers".
An additional problem, from a box office standpoint, is the ending. Action comedies are expected to have a happy ending, but "The Four Musketeers" finishes decidedly downbeat. Also, Racquel Welch, arguably the film's biggest draw, has a much smaller role than in the first film.
With these points in mind, it is no surprise that the sequel did not fare as well with critics or at the box office as "The Three Musketeers". But in fact, the films are of roughly equal quality, which is to be expected. They're each two parts of the same film.
"The Four Musketeers", like its prequel, has excellent sets and costumes, and the very good cast remains intact. Michael York stars as D'Artagnan, and Rachel Welch is his love interest. The villains are scheming cardinal Charlton Heston and murderous Faye Dunaway, while the musketeers are played by moody Oliver Reed, sunny Richard Chamberlain, and comical Frank Finlay.
As with the first film, the action scenes are riddled with slapstick. One swordfight takes place on a frozen lake, with the combatants stumbling and sliding. York may be heroic, but he is clumsy (and promiscuous) as well. This is a big budget epic to be enjoyed, with some suspense but little dramatic tension, at least not until the surprisingly dark ending. (76/100)
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