Did anybody else think that this film had a homosexual vibe to it? I mean...their were so many hints in this that give off that vibe. Men kissing other men's hands, talking about kicking the habit of staying on your knees all the time. Not to mention that the actual musketeers don't really seem to be interested in women and only interested in themselves. Also they way that they thrust their swords at the screen. I know that swords are obvious phallic symbols but maybe that just proves that they are masculine...That's just something small that I noticed while watching this haha. Maybe that's just my homosexual mind at work lol :P
Ok, let me say that this was my first version of seeing this story. I know there has been quite a few re-tellings of the story in films and novels. But I hadn't had any other versions shown to me or anything like that. And I didn't know what the story was as well so yeah! And from what I got from the story..I didn't really understand this movie at all. There was a plotline with the character of the Cardinal(played by Christoph Waltz) and the character of Milady(played my Milla Jovovich) where they were planning something but I never knew what they were actually doing. There were just so many thing that weren't explained properly and fully to me. Like the main plot. There was something to do with the queen's jewels and then something to do with these air ships that Da Vinci supposedly made (Speaking of the airships, just on symbolism again, there were two statues at the end of each ship. At the end of the Musketeers ship, there was a lion and on the end of the bad guys ship(Can't remember his name, sorry. He was the leader of some army) there was the grim reaper. Now a lion is obviously a symbol for courage, strength etc and the grim reaper is a symbol for death. I mean, this could be foreshadowing, I don't know but they actually zoomed in on the statues so its there for some reason) . Just nothing really intertwined and so many things didn't make sense to me. So the story I felt was very weak. That could be the screenwriters fault, I don't know but nothing just really flowed for me, story wise.
Also, on the topic of screenwriters, it seemed to me that the Musketeers were secondary characters. Most of the film focuses on this subplot with the Cardinal and Milady. Maybe they had something to do with the main plot, I don't know, but they seemed to take up most of the majority of the film.
Ok...cast...I have to say, I LOVE the cast in this film...for one particular reason :D
Ahhhh..isn't he gorgeous! :D Logan Lerman was the main reason why I wanted to watch this film :D And I have to admit he is one of only male celebrities than can pull off long hair :D Ever since I saw him in Percy Jackson, I have had the biggest crush on him :) Anyways, I think he was the best choice to play D'Artagnan. From what I can tell, he is a young, rebellious, brave and cocky character. Everything that Logan is :D So I loved his performance in this. Not to mention he spends most of the film smiling at the camera :D Nothing wrong with that in my books!
The other most memorable performance in this was from Milla Jovovich who played Milady. I can tell she had the most fun with this film. I haven't had much experience with her before so I don't know what kind of an actress she is, but if she is like the way she was in this in every film she has been in, then I am sure she would be one of my favorite actresses. She was just..so fun to look at in this. Every line she gave in this, every move she made was cunning, smart and witty. Just what I like in an actress :D Also, did anyone else thinks she looks like Taylor Swift?
It was also great to see Orlando Bloom in something new :D I have loved him ever since Pirates Of The Carribean.(Which this film has quite a lot of similarities to Pirates) Anyways he wasn't in this much but he did have quite a lot to do with the plot :D
Everyone else in this...wasn't exactly memorable..I can't remember anyone else's names or what their characters were like. So sorry that I can't give you that much information on them. I can tell you that the musketeers do share some quite smart and humorous lines at each other :D
Ok..Visual effects. The effects in this were MINDBLOWING!! Most of the time, I couldn't tell what was green screen and what was practical effects. All of the bird's eye shots with the airships were just...WOW! Everything looked so real. All of the buildings were so realistic and...I just want to know what was real and what was effects. All of the sets in this looked so elaborate and looked like it had so detail taken in to it. I know that creating the 17th/18th century(not sure which one) can be quite hard(Costumes, propes etc) but in this, it looked like the crew actually cared about everything looked like.
In the last quarter of the film, there was a lot of action and battles between the two air ships and the designs of all the weapons on the musketeers ship were just so creative! The last quarter of this film, I absolutely loved! All of the action and suspense was just so much fun to look at!
Ok...last but not least..3D. My cinema was only showing this in 3D but that's ok since I like 3D :D The 3D in this..I really liked. I know it was shot in 3D(since it was advertised in the trailer) and you can defiantly tell. This looks nothing like that crappy post-conversion 3D. The 3D in this wasn't really gimmicky but this is one of those films were the create depth and make you feel like you are stepping into a story book. I haven't had that experience happened to me before. Maybe I didn't notice it before but I defiantly noticed it in this. Again, I think it was the sets and the visual effects that helped create the effect. I just felt like I was in this world with the characters and living the story with them :D There are a few gimmicky shots where the characters fling their swords into the air or the thrust them in to the screen but these shots don't really work. To be honest, I think the best 3D shots in this was with all of the slow-mo effects. With nearly all of the action scenes, they usually slow-mo them down to add some effect. I loved it in this film! Whenever they blow anything up, they put it into slow-mo and all of the rubble flings into your face. I enjoyed that the most out of the 3D.
Ok..Just one more quick mention of something. I LOVED the opening to this film! They introduce each of the musketeers in their own separate way and then they give them their own title cards. I personally love it when films do that. Then Milady has to work her way through this room full of booby traps. During this, they have arrows and flying, spiky balls flying at your face in slow-mo. I just love this kind of set up and in 3D it was awesome to look at. I think the opening had to be the highlight of the film besides Logan :D
So..I have a love-hate relationship with this film. I was constantly getting confused throughout the whole plot, they were adding so many new things and I didn't understand any of it. So that is my one and only complaint with this film. Everything else I loved! The effects, the 3D, the sets and of course...
Isn't he just so gorgeous!! :D :D :D
Watch the trailer down below:
3.5 stars out of 5 for me :D
Okay, lets summarize shall we :P
ReplyDeleteI LOVED this film to, but also like you, its much of a love hate relationship-thing.
Logan is of course a god. I've loved him ever since I first saw him in jack & Bobby, Hoot, and Meet Bill. His long hair, and all those outfits really did him justice. And gotta love the smiles at the camera aye :P
Unlike you, I followed the plot fine, but it was weak. The Cardinal and Milady's little insurance deal was the strongest point of the plot.
Milady made a fantastic villain. We just love female villains! haha.
The action choreography was BRILLIANT, the humor was GREAT, the cast was UNBELIEVABLY good.
I'm sad you didn't mention Matthew Mcfadyen as Athos, he had charm, humor, and was good in action, everything a musketeer needs.
I'm sorry, but the last quarter was the bad bit. Till Logan was rescued from Buckingham I thought the film was perfect. But despite the directors attempt to modernize the franchise by using 21st century technology in the form of Da Vinci's flying battle ships, it failed. Those ships ruined the whole film, they turned me off completely, and thats why the film is a flop with the critics I think. It changes the genre to pirate-fantasy. Its a PERIOD PIECE FGS! lol. I was very angry at the time.
The muskateers are known for doing what they did with those 40 guards, not blowing up the enemy with ship canons! facepalm!!1
Whats worse, they wasted Orlando Bloom completely (arrogant twat I've heard him to be), he was supposed to be like the main antagonist, instead it was the Cardinal, and there was no satisfactory end! Except getting the bloody jewels back so King Louis didn't think the queen was cheating on him. Then they go and put in a final scene with the pleasant surpirse that Buckingham and MIlady are alive and coming after them (HUGE hint at a sequel) only for us to know it will never happen because the film hasn't done well. NOT happy.
But I still like the film despite those blumin' ships. Yeah, a 3.5 about does it. But I hate how the film and franchise could have been so much more.