Heroism almost feels like stuff of legends now a days. Prior to modern times, so many battles were fought in close quarters. The older the era, the more claustrophobic combat was. It’s crazy that now, confrontation is met with very distant attacks. Drone strikes, missiles, bullets; they all get fired at a distance with extreme accuracy. Now imagine having to charge using the bayonet or with even sharper blades like swords. It’s just not a thing now. In cinema, there are only some stories that have continued to portray such action harkening back to those times. Films like The Mask of Zorro (1998) or Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) brought back swashbuckling to the masses. Believe it or not Disney gave it a shot with this movie too based on the popular story from Alexandre Dumas.
The screenplay was written by David Loughery, who wrote Passenger 57 (1992) the year before. With a plot that’s fairly simple to follow, audiences are introduced to D'Artagnan (Chris O'Donnell) looking to join the king of France’s league of Musketeers. Only on his travels to learn that Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) has disbanded the group with three remaining faithful to their oath. Those three are Aramis (Charlie Sheen), Athos (Kiefer Sutherland) and Porthos (Oliver Platt), hoping to find a way to rid the Cardinal of his treason and his top henchman Rochefort (Michael Wincott). Meanwhile the king (Hugh O'Conor) and his queen (Gabrielle Anwar) are unaware of those plans. The film was directed by Stephen Herek known for heading Critters (1986), Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989) and The Mighty Ducks (1992). He would also later direct Disney’s live-action 101 Dalmations (1996).
The story itself is probably the films greatest weakness, being predictable. That’s not to say it’s bad, not at all. But there’s nothing that feels different or new being told in the execution. It just feels like a very safe rendition of this classic story, which kind of makes sense because this is by Disney at the time. Right from the beginning it’s obvious as to who the main focus will be on, who’s on the bad side and who’s on the good side. That doesn’t mean the acting isn’t professional though. All actors provide a showing that an audience member of any age would enjoy. Chris O’Donnell is the play it safe hero who doesn’t do anything wrong. Charlie Sheen plays the romantic suave member, Oliver Platt plays the goof and Kiefer Sutherland is the more serious of the three.
All of which have acceptable chemistry together although much of their humor is again, really not doing much that’s creative. There are a few slapstick gags that land, but the rest are mainly verbal quips between characters. Some of it works, other times it’s expected because of the role each actor plays. Tim Curry and Michael Wincott are both excellent in their roles but make it plain as day they are not on the right side of things. Making you wonder how the king and queen couldn’t see such obvious trickery. There’s also appearances from Rebecca De Mornay and Paul McGann. Going back to action though, this is where a lot of fun can be had. Sword fights are not the easiest thing to master nor seen anymore. So the fact that the actors not only duel each other well but make it look easy is very gratifying to watch.
Aiding in that visual entertainment is the camerawork provided by Dean Semler. Capturing many green landscapes to show the time period is a great way to establish the setting. The fight choreography was helpful too in making the action fun to watch. Lastly the film score was composed by Michael Kamen. Known for composing scores to many popular films like The Dead Zone (1983), Highlander (1986), Lethal Weapon (1987), Die Hard (1988) and even Don Juan DeMarco (1994) a year later, Kamen produced another good listening experience. Kamen has multiple motifs for the main characters and makes it feel like it’s a part of that era as well as keeping the sound like it is from this century. An album was also released which is nice because it does sound good on its own too.
Narratively speaking, the story is cut and dry – meaning it gets straight to the point and is not complex. This can make it a little too simple, especially with its rather simple humor. That’s Disney for the time maybe. However, audiences shouldn’t completely dismiss it as it is fun to watch with good acting, energetic action, competent cinematography and appropriate music.
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