Plot
The three best of the disbanded Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - join a young hotheaded would-be-Musketeer...

Release Year: 1993

Rating: 6.1/10 (23,768 voted)

Director: Stephen Herek

Stars: Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell

Storyline
The three best of the disbanded Musketeers - Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - join a young hotheaded would-be-Musketeer, D'Artagnan, to stop the Cardinal Richelieu's evil plot: to form an alliance with enemy England by way of the mysterious Milady. Rochefort, the Cardinal's right-hand man, announces the official disbanding of the King's Musketeers. Three, however, refuse to throw down their swords - Athos the fighter and drinker, Porthos the pirate and lover, and Aramis the priest and poet. Arriving in Paris to join the Musketeers, D'Artagnan uncovers the Cardinal's plans, and the four set out on a mission to protect King and Country.

Writers: Alexandre Dumas père, David Loughery

Cast:
Charlie Sheen - Aramis
Kiefer Sutherland - Athos
Chris O'Donnell - D'Artagnan
Oliver Platt - Porthos
Tim Curry - Cardinal Richelieu
Rebecca De Mornay - Countess D'Winter
Gabrielle Anwar - Queen Anne
Michael Wincott - Rochefort
Paul McGann - Girard / Jussac
Julie Delpy - Constance
Hugh O'Conor - King Louis
Christopher Adamson - Henri
Philip Tan - Parker
Erwin Leder - Peasant
Axel Anselm - Musketeer

Taglines: A place of betrayal. The fate of a king. A time for heroes.

Release Date: 12 November 1993

Filming Locations: Boconnoc, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office Details

Budget: $30,000,000 (estimated)

Gross: $53,898,845 (USA)

Runtime: 105 min

Trivia:
Charlie Sheen was originally sought for the role of Porthos.

Goofs:
Continuity: After receiving the information about the assassination from Lady De Winter, the four men are seen riding around shooting arrows to rally the other musketeers. In one shot (after which Athos' original white horse is killed) he is seen riding a brown horse. A later shot of all four of them have them all on the white horses again.

Quotes:
Cardinal Richelieu: [hears the scream of a prisoner being run through] One less mouth to feed.

A fun film, if nothing else.

Rating:

First and foremost, if you have read the Dumas book, then you realize that this movie doesn't resemble the novel in the slightest. The only thing that this movie got right was the names of the characters!

However, I am a big advocate in saying that you should never compare a movie back to its book, and I use this movie as an example. This story has been "Disney-fied" so that it can be called a family film. If you read the book, a true adaptation would not be family entertainment. Disney changed everything that they do. Read the Tarzan novel and compare to the cartoon. BIG changes there. The Little Mermaid. How convenient that Disney left out the fact that Ariel dies at the end of the story.

But what we should judge is the end result. This movie is still entertaining, despite having nothing to do with its literary influence. The characters are portrayed with the same attributes that they have in the book. For instance, D'Artagnan, while very duty bound and honorable, is young and headstrong, and prone to impulsive decisions that will help him to prove his skill and worth. Porthos is self serving and self praising, very vain and cocky, yet has a lust for the finer things in life. Aramis is humble and religious, but very skilled and intelligent, making him a very formidable soldier, yet he also loves the finer things in life. And Athos loves his wine, trying to bury himself in a alcoholic haze to hide the pain that he suffered in losing the love of his life. All of these come through in the movie, and all of the actors were great in performing them.

As far as the story is concerned, Disney likes things black and white, good vs evil. And so, the story changes to make the Cardinal a power hungry man with his own interests in mind. He wasn't like that in the book or in real life, but he was underhanded, and Tim Curry does another great job as the villain that he steals the show.

Overall, a great and enjoyable movie, worth watching with the family.

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