The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady (2023)

The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady (2023). 1h 55m

“I write this is 2023 and I can assure the reader that this was not a good year for cinema. Actually, itu0026#39;s been years that cinema has been pretty much dead. Politics, general lack of respect with source material, studiosu0026#39; unwillingness to invest in mid-range films, poor production values, poor acting, poor scripting, you name it, are all part of the problem.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Three Musketeers story has been adapted to cinema many times, but this is the first time it seems to take itself seriously. This was the first time I saw a cinema musketeer hold actual muskets. The story is solid, the acting is top-notch, the bad guys are believeable. Lady Winter is so good, in fact, that before long you start rooting for her!u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe costumes look authentic enough, the fighting scenes are not 100% believable, but they are pretty decent, thereu0026#39;s a lot of character building around Athos, the relationship between Du0026#39;Artagnan and Constance, even King Louis XIII has more depth than most characters from Marvel.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThese musketeers dress like musketeers, and they display signs of true friendship and comradery, pulling each otheru0026#39;s legs, knowing each otheru0026#39;s quirks, having adult dialogues and things like that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story does not dwell in the stereotypical bad vs good kind of thing and doesnu0026#39;t try to push a message to the viewer. Itu0026#39;s all grey areas, each character has an agenda and reasons to do what they do.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd on top of all that: itu0026#39;s all in French. How itu0026#39;s supposed to be.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eEven though itu0026#39;s not the book, itu0026#39;s not a strict interpretation of it, these two films are very good. A breath of fresh air and true filmmanship.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you like the 3 musketeers, or just any good old adventure film, donu0026#39;t miss this one!”