The Three Musketeers Blu-Ray Blu-ray 3D Combo

The family was in town so I thought I'd show off the new 3D TV. I figured Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Five-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D / Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy) would be a sure winner, so started with that one. No one really seemed all that excited about it, but didn't say much so as to not hurt my feelings. I even heard some snoring from the back row... After a snack break, I threw this one in, and everyone suddenly woke up and started responding to the movie with some emotion. The Pirates (which is a good enough movie, of course) just looked like those popup books - like a series of 2D cutouts stacked in front of each other by comparison. Three Musketeers drew you into the depths of the scene. And there were the inevitable swords waving around your theater room and anxiety causing shots from airborne war machines. Corny, but we do expect a little of that from a 3D film, don't we? The colors were bright and the scenes were well lit. Was it Alexandre Dumas? No. Was it loads of fun and well worth watching multiple times? YES! Read more

Okay, before I get into the review, I want to preface this by stating that tastes are subjective. There are many people out there who think that the likes of Precious, Good Will Hunting, etc. are great films, while I on the other hand find them to be boring snoozefests. When I see a movie I am looking to be entertained, not see a bunch of depressing drama slop that happens every day in real life. On that note, this revision of The Three Musketeers definitely takes quite a few liberties with Alexandre Dumas' story, and it goes to extremes at times with trying to show the technology to be way ahead of the time period (ie the Will Smith version of the Wild, Wild West). The actors do an okay job with the story and it can be entertaining and fun, but if you are going into this expecting an exceptionally well adapted version of the book then you will be disappointed. For the best story adaptation to film I recommend the mid 70s Three Musketeers and Four Musketeers with Michael York and Co. Where this adaptation really shines is in the fact that is visually and audibly stunning. The 3D on this film is definitely impressive. From the get go, it takes you on a Walk across the map of Europe with Army's represented by figurines as it explains the tensions and politics of the era. The best way I can describe it is that it is probably the closest you would get to walking across a life size Risk Board complete with figurines. The movie always has good depth but there are some visually striking scenes that really stand out (ie the front of a ship sticking straight out into your living room, or a Musketeer pointing his sword straight at the viewer and feeling that the tip of the blade is touching your forehead). It should be noted that I was viewing this with an Epson HC2000 projector on a large blank living room wall and using Samsung 5100SSG 3D Glasses. The whole movie is a plethora of eye candy and will not leave you wanting. In the audio department, I can say that it is equally impressive. If you have a decent 5.1 surround sound with a decent sized sub (ie 10 inch or 12 inch woofer) it will shake the house more often than not and do a great job of emulating canon fire, explosions, etc. I have a Dayton Audio SUB-1200 ($138.50 shipped from Parts Express) and it shook the house so much during the film that I had to turn the sub and main volume down quite a bit as there were quite a few parts that about blew me off the couch. So in conclusion the movie itself is a fun but silly adaptation of the book, but for audio and visual effects, you will be hard pressed to find it's equal for less than $8 shipped and is well worth it even if you strictly use it as a 3d reference quality disc. Read more

Love this Musketeer version. The D'Artagnan actor, Logan Lerman, is charasmatically cool and loveable! Read more

I've been a fan of the Musketeers since I saw the 70's versions. Disney's rendition was just bleh... The Musketeer was cool. The 70's ones were awesome. This one is closer to those, imho, and threatened to unseat the original as my favourite, but I don't think it can quite cut it... close, though. * SPOILERS BELOW * I really don't understand why people are complaining that it's an action flick... or super-hero-esque... that's what the Musketeers are! I personally don't care whether or not it remains "true" to the original story, whatever, exactly, that might mean. Though the story is a little used because of the previous movies, it feels pretty fresh. But they did actually put some effort into the characters and plot and made them different than in the older movies, but just as good. That they made D'Artagnan younger and gave him an age-related dynamic with the Louis was neat. That they made him that young also fit with his cockiness much better than the older incarnations in the other movies. Louis was hysterical, and I'm glad they made him somewhat of a twit. The dialog was witty, funny, and well written (except for one part below). The sword fighting was extremely fun to watch, which is part of why I like the originals so much. That said, there were a couple of things that weren't so great. I hate that ploy where writers give the main character some witty remark early on in the movie, and have him repeat it at the end... IT'S LAME, and it was lame when it happened in this movie. It wasn't, however, a deal killer. Milla Jovavich was disappointing, though, and she's the reason I had to give the movie only 4 stars. She left the role feeling pretty empty, which is sad. I haven't enjoyed a single movie of hers since The 5th Element. So, bad casting job for the Countess, but the rest were great. Read more

Excellent 3D movie. Read more