The Fourth Musketeer

8/15/2022

Told by way of a rather denouement-wrecking retrospective, this is a particularly weak development of Alexandre Dumas' exciting "Three Musketeers" story. Jonathan Hansler (he is the "and" in the titles at the start of the film, so expectations for a feast of drama were already pretty low) is an elderly d'Artagnan regaling his tales of derring-do as a youngster to a would-be successor "Philippe" (Nathan McGowran). The arrival in Paris, his introduction to "Porthos", "Aramis" and "Athos" and their perilous rivalry with the guards of Cardinal Richelieu - represented here by his thoroughly un-menacing henchman "Rochefort" (Sean Cronin) and the equally un-intimidating "Milady" (Mollie Hindle) - is all faithful enough to the book, but boy is this a very wordy exercise. The sword play looks like