Review by John P. Harvey.
Close friends with the famous trio of musketeers — Athos (Vincent Cassel), Porthos (Pio Marmaï), and Aramis (Romain Duris) — and now officially a King’s Musketeer himself, D’Artagnan (François Civil) has also become close to Queen Anne’s (Vicky Krieps) messenger, Constance (Lyna Khoudri). Witnessing Constance’s abduction and unable to prevent it, D’Artagnan himself is captured, whereupon he learns the identity of a major plotter against the king and, upon escaping, enlists his musketeer friends to help locate Constance — leading him to face two seduction attempts and eventually to another meeting with the Duke of Buckingham (Jacob Fortune-Lloyd).
This second part of The Three Musketeers reveals a deeper role for Cardinal Richelieu (Eric Ruf) than had been evident to the musketeers in the first part, and a correspondingly deeper role for the brother of Louis XIII (Louis Garrel), Gaston de France (Julien Frison). Replete with serious threats to the lives of our favourite protagonists, including the musketeers’ leader, Captain Tréville (Marc Barbé), the story maintains the broad sweep of the first part and heightens the political and moral tensions that drive many of its characters to war or treachery.
This is one film in which special effects, excellent though they are, take a back seat to story line and character, the story’s moral conundrums being almost as engaging as its plot twists and stunts. Yet it handles all of this with a deft touch, never over-explaining or overdramatising but always trusting in the intelligence of its audience. The film would seem to be the end of the story, and no sequel appears to be in the planning; yet Part Two leaves the viewer with the sense that a sequel is in the air. So we’ll see.
Screening at Palace cinemas.
