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Summary
In 1645, Eloise, the daughter of the great swordmaster D’Artagnan, lives in a monastery
in southern France. One night, the monastery is disturbed by nobles pursing an escaped
negro slave. In the melee, the Mother Superior is killed. Eloise suspects
a conspiracy and rides to Paris to see her father, accompanied by a young poet, Quentin.
At first, D’Artagnan is reluctant to take up his daughter’s call to arms, but he agrees
when he realises that the king’s life is at stake. After all, it provides a long
over due excuse to meet up with his former comrades, the three Musketeers, Athos and Porthos
and Aramis. Although long in the tooth and grey-haired, the lust for adventure is
still there, albeit somewhat tempered by rheumatism and haemorrhoids...
Review
This was never going to be as fast-moving and as action-packed as previous films in the
Three Musketeers mould - not with the leading protagonists now in their mid-fifties.
However, despite some admirable production values (the photography is excellent), the
film never really seems to get going, and the fight scenes appear half-hearted and overly
choreographed.
Given that this is advertised as being a film about D’Artagnan’s daughter, it is a bit disappointing to see how small a part the daughter in question has to play in the film. It all starts out well, with Sophie Marceau throwing herself into the part with a gusto, launching into a brief but well-managed fight scene (the best of the film) within the first twenty minutes. But all too soon, Miss D’Artagnan goes it alone and is captured by the villain of the piece, thereafter forced to play the damsel in distress until daddy turns up to rescue her. So much for women’s lib. Luckily, D’Artagnan’s daughter manages to redeem herself - partly - in the final fight scene - although it is (of course) daddy who saves her in the end (again). Probably the best thing about the film is its wry, self-deprecating humour. Philippe Noiret’s mildly lugubrious persona and dry wit is well suited to the part of the decrepit D’Artagnan, even if his skill with a sword looks a bit questionable. © James Travers 2000 Write a review for this film... |
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