The 2023 French box office hit The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan (Les Trois Mousquetaires: D'Artagnan) brings genuine cinematic heft to the classic tale, with a massive €70 million budget and director Martin Bourboulon at the helm. The film quickly became France's biggest box-office hit of the year, according to industry reports.
A lavishly produced adaptation
The film stars Vincent Cassel as Athos, Pio Marmaï as Porthos, and Romain Duris as Aramis, with François Civil playing the youthful and adventurous D'Artagnan. The story follows D'Artagnan as he travels to Paris to become a musketeer, carrying a letter of recommendation and a dream of heroism. Almost immediately, he stumbles into a plot by Cardinal Richelieu (Éric Ruf) against Captain de Tréville (Marc Barbé) and the musketeers.
The political intrigue in 17th-century France pits Richelieu against Tréville, with the cardinal using every tool to destroy the musketeers and run France from the shadows. The film opens with D'Artagnan wandering headfirst into one of Richelieu's plots, leading to a duel with all three musketeers. This sequence is described as perhaps the funniest and most action-packed in the film, according to critics.
Kinetic action and strong performances
The swordplay is kinetic, with long takes and sets so detailed that viewers can practically smell the streets of Paris. The film's devotion to the source material is evident, with the musketeers fully realized as careworn and likable characters. D'Artagnan is played with youthful vigour and a lust for adventure by Civil. The cast also includes Vicky Krieps as Queen Anne, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd as the Duke of Buckingham, and Lyna Khoudri as Constance Bonacieux.
The utterly thrilling two-and-a-half-hour film ends with a deeply moreish cliffhanger, setting up the sequel The Three Musketeers: Milady, released in December 2023 to thunderous critical acclaim. The sequel focuses on the brilliant and devious Milady de Winter, played by Eva Green, who proves more than a match for the musketeers.
Why the musketeers resonate
Lawrence Ellsworth, who recently completed a highly regarded translation of Alexandre Dumas's musketeer series, explained the enduring appeal: the musketeers address 'the central challenge of a life worth living: how to find the courage to adhere to a personal code of honor in the face of pressure from society and oppressive authority. How, in short, to do right.'
The two films are the first French adaptations of Dumas's stories in more than 30 years. Their massive impact in France and around the world may stem from their perfect encapsulation of the musketeer spirit. The action set pieces in the first film are stunning and balletic, while the sequel shifts towards the operatic, with a daring night raid on a fortress held by rebels that is 'superb,' according to the source.
The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and Milady are available to stream via SBS On Demand in Australia and via Starz in the US.
