The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan brings real excitement to a well-known story

A famous saying is, 'All for one, and one for all!' This is shouted by a group of popular French characters just before they fight bravely with swords. The story of The Three Musketeers has been popular since 1844, and there have been many film versions of their adventures since 1903.

So, why not make this very familiar story even more exciting by creating two films? These films are full of fast sword fights, long single shots, and sets so detailed that you can almost smell the streets of Paris.

In 2023, this is exactly what happened. The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan was the big-screen adaptation the story needed, with real cinematic power, amazing production, and a strong respect for the original book. With a huge budget of €70m and director Martin Bourboulon in charge, it quickly became France’s most successful film of the year.

The main musketeers – Vincent Cassel as Athos, Pio Marmaï as Porthos, and Romain Duris as Aramis – feel completely real from the moment they appear. They are shown as experienced and likable. The main character, D’Artagnan, is played with youthful energy and a love for adventure by François Civil.

The story itself is about bravery and political scheming. There is a fight for power happening in 17th-century France between the clever Cardinal Richelieu and Captain de Tréville. Tréville is the captain of the musketeers – the brave, sword-fighting guards of King Louis XIII. The cardinal is using all his tricks to get rid of Tréville, destroy the musketeers, and control France from behind the scenes.

The film starts with D’Artagnan on his way to Paris to join the musketeers. He has a letter of introduction, a dream to be a hero, and a strong desire to fight anyone who offends him. Almost immediately, he becomes involved in one of Richelieu’s plans and a lot of trouble.

But before D’Artagnan can do any actual musketeering, he accidentally finds himself in a fight to the death with all three musketeers. This leads to a funny and exciting scene in the film. After this fight, the Musketeers accept D’Artagnan as one of them. Soon, they are involved in Cardinal Richelieu’s plot to catch Queen Anne having a secret meeting with the Duke of Buckingham. D’Artagnan also quickly becomes interested in Constance Bonacieux, whose role in the cardinal’s plan is more important than it first appears.

The exciting two-and-a-half-hour film ends with a suspenseful cliffhanger. However, it was always planned as a two-part story. In December of the same year, The Three Musketeers: Milady was released to excellent reviews. A sequel in the same year? Wonderful!

Picking up where the first film ended, this exciting follow-up focuses on the real villain: the brilliant, cunning, and very complicated Milady de Winter, played by Eva Green. Milady proves to be a strong opponent for the musketeers. Because of Richelieu’s clever plan to make King Louis fight against a Protestant threat, the musketeers are too busy to react quickly enough and prevent disaster.

The action scenes from the first film are impressive, almost like a dance. But in this film, the action becomes more dramatic. There is a scene where Tréville and his musketeers bravely attack a fortress held by rebels at night. It is rare for historical films to have so much action, but Bourboulon and his team do everything perfectly. It is excellent.

Why do the musketeers remain popular? Lawrence Ellsworth, who recently finished what many consider the best translation of Alexandre Dumas’s musketeer stories, explained it well. He said they deal with the main challenge of a good life: how to find the bravery to stick to your personal code of honour when facing pressure from society and unfair power. In short, how to do the right thing.

Perhaps these two films had such a big impact, first in France and then worldwide, because they perfectly capture this musketeer spirit. It is also worth noting that these are the first French film versions of Dumas’s stories in over 30 years. Maybe these films are like D’Artagnan and the musketeers themselves – the longer you keep them waiting, the harder they will fight when they finally get to act. Let’s hope we get a third film very soon.