Der Mann in der eisernen Maske (1998)
26KDer Mann in der eisernen Maske: Directed by Randall Wallace. With Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gérard Depardieu. The cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother whom he keeps imprisoned. Can the twin be substituted for the real king?
“Without it being the best movie I have ever seen, I actually liked this film. I wasnu0026#39;t expecting a masterpiece, and I didnu0026#39;t get that. Instead I got a fun film, with flaws, but it was enjoyable enough.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStarting with the many good things, the cinematography is superb, as is the lavish scenery and costumes. The music is very rousing and moving, and the sword play is energetic. Also I thought the direction was fine, same with the acting. Gabriel Byrne is surprisingly good as Du0026#39;Artagnan(much more suited to the part than Chris Ou0026#39;Donnell-the worst Du0026#39;Artagnan, though I actually liked the movie- was). Even better were Jeremy Irons and Gerard Depardieu as Aramis and Porthos. John Malkovich was good too, if perhaps a little too fey to start with. Leonardo DiCaprio was somewhat uneven in his performance but he was good on the whole, personally I felt he was better as Phillippe in alternative to Louis, he never quite convinced me playing an arrogant king whereas he succeeded with Phillippe because of that spontaneous boyish charm he has.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, the film is a little too long and the pacing is also uneven, I felt the film dragged in the middle and then it felt a tad rushed at the end. While the story is solid enough and sticks relatively faithful to the story, which is brilliant on a side note to those not familiar with it, it can get implausible with one or two soap-opera-ish qualities about it. Finally, the script does have one too many weak spots, one or two parts are a little too cheesy for my liking.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOn the whole though, this is an above average and fun film. Maybe not the best for those who adore the book, but as an introduction to the story it is good enough. 7/10 Bethany Cox”
