The Man in the Iron Mask

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, and Gabriel Byrne

This revisiting of the characters from Alexandre Dumas' "Three Musketeers" finds D'Artagnan as the last member of the original four who still believes in protecting the king with his life. As Athos, Porthos and Aramis have aged, their lives have taken very different directions, and D'Artagnan and Athos are in bitter conflict. With Aramis charged by the king to find and assassinate the head of the Jesuit order that opposes his right to the throne, the four friends must decide if they can overcome their differences to fight together again for the good of the people of France.

I hate period pieces, but I have to say that this one was pretty entertaining. Actually, I have to guess that people who are normally fans of period pieces would probably guffaw at this movie (whining about mismatched accents and what-not, weird, obsessive picky people).

Leonardo was very dislikable in this movie, and that was fun. It's fun to watch movies where you're supposed to hate an actor who is generally disliked in the real world. Adds to the realism, ya know?

I liked the end except that someone should have died. Running through a maelstrom of musket balls should have some pretty drastic consequences, even if they come in the form of gangrenous limbs.

All in all, if you're a guy and you want to score some points with a lady by renting a movie with fancy dresses and horse-back riding, this might not be a bad movie to opt for.

I LOVE this movie! It was a perfect ensemble piece, and every actor was magnificent in his respective role. The two female leads were a bit irksome to me, but maybe they just weren't quite as good as their overpowering male counterparts.

There were a few non-delicious parts. Gabriel Byrne and Jeremy Irons spoke in their wonderful English accents, while John Malkovich and Leonardo DiCaprio stuck to their distinctive non-accents, with Gerard Depardieu stepping in as the sole true Frenchman in a film based in France. It wasn't very closely related to the book, either. But honestly, Dumas' work would make a lousy screenplay. And finally, the old Hollywood standard of the good guys being invincible is sometimes tough to swallow. But refreshing at the same time.

Okay, I take that back as a critique. I loved it! The final scene with the four old guard Musketeers rushing the thirty new school Musketeers seriously brought tears to my eyes. Yes, I AM a huge sap, how did you know? This is just a fun movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who feels like spending a couple hours getting involved in the intrigue and humor that only Alexandre Dumas can bring to the screen.