i must have seen a different film!!

best movie i've ever seen.

Admirable film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A film loosely based on the third Musketeers novel by Alexander Dumas, who in turn adapted the story from actual historical events surrounding King Louis XIV and the eponymous masked prisoner of his. The story goes that France is struggling under the rule of its new king, Louis XIV, whose wars have lead to poverty, hunger and rioting. King has faced numerous assassination attempts already despite his young age and thus he entrusts his safety to D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers, all of them aging men already.Sounds exciting, right? Unfortunately, it is not. And I do not blame the actors for this. All of the main characters are played by talented actors, from Gabriel Byrne as D'Artagnan to Jeremy Irons as Aramis. They're just the right amount of over the top to fit the spirit of adventure, yet serious enough that they can sell the darker moments. Sure, Leonardo DiCaprio as King Louis is still in that younger phase of his career where you cannot take him that seriously, but he does a decent job here as well.No, it's the script that's at fault. Or perhaps the directing. The events themselves are exciting on paper, but most of the film fails to translate that excitement into actual events. Like a scene where Louis is hosting a grand ball while at the same time his opposers are working to kidnap him. Yet it drags. It's just dancing, Louis sitting on his throne, retiring for a moment, then coming back, sitting some more, people dancing. You don't feel the stakes at all. And the whole movie is like that. It should be thrilling, a great big adventure. But the pacing and the storytelling are both so incompetent that it doesn't feel like it.I'm also not a huge fan of the changes made to the novel, but they don't outright ruin the film. They also don't add all that much so I don't see the point of including them, but that's a nitpick.The film has its upsides. Visually it's very pleasing, all the musketeers are fun characters, if depicted a bit shallowly in the case of Porthos and Athos, the score is decent and even the story at least has elements of adventure in it. Personally I've seen much better adaptations, but if you're a fan of the actors, you might get something out of it.

This movie was recently aired on a local TV station. I was passing by the channel and figured I'd watch it since I missed it in the theater. That, and there wasn't anything else on worth watching.I guess at first I thought it odd that someone would cast Brooke Shields as King Louis XIV, but wanted to watch to see if she was somehow able to pull it off.About 20 minutes into the film I thought her acting was a little odd, even for her. So I checked the movie info on screen and discovered it wasn't Brooke Shields, but rather, Leonardo DiCaprio.After that, all suspension of disbelief was gone. It was replaced with utter amazement at how much DiCaprio looked like Shields.

The Man in the Iron Mask (1998): Dir: Randall Wallace / Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne: Fantasy about identity that takes a familiar concept and reworks it with the Musketeers as a factor. Set in 1662 with the separation of twins. One is put in chains and fastened into an iron mask while the other becomes a sadistic ruler. He is defended by a Priest and the Musketeers. One of the Musketeers loses a son in one of the King's battles so he gets together with the others with plans of switching the twins. Randall Wallace does a skilled job directing but humour is often too corny, such as a scene where the Musketeers slice vegetables that are thrown at them. We know where this all ends and only the sets make it worthwhile. Leonardo DiCaprio is a fine actor but unfortunately overplays two roles here. John Malkovich plays a vengeful Musketeer. Jeremy Irons is terrific in his loyalty to the King. He is outsmarted during the switch but will become involved in the action violence climax that these films tend to be reduced too. Gabriel Byrne is also featured although he has played broader roles than this. Gerard Depardieu is hilarious but the other roles seem more or less cardboard. The film contains impressive sets that are the strongest element in the film. That is the one element that allows the film to see the light of day. Score: 6 ½ / 10

The french people are starving and the country is at war. King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an uncaring ruler with a secret. He sends Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard) away to the front to steal his fiancée Christine. Raoul's father Athos (John Malkovich) is angered. D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) tries to plead to the king for the starving people and Raoul. When Raoul is reported kill, the King takes Christine to bed. The King orders Aramis (Jeremy Irons) to kill the leader of the Jesuits who oppose his war. Only Aramis is secretly the actual leader of the Jesuits and tries reunite the musketeers to take on the king. Athos and Porthos (Gérard Depardieu) agree, but D'Artagnan refuses. It turns out that the king has imprisoned his twin Philippe in an Iron Mask.The story is complicated. There are too many lead characters. They need to pick one character to lead the story. The great actors just get into each other's way. The action isn't there. This is an overly complicated costume drama where there are too many accents and not enough excitement.