United Artists, Rated PG-13
Written and directed by Randall Wallace

I finally caught "The Man in the Iron Mask" at the budget theater, which is probably a good thing, because all the hype surrounding it as being the next Leonardo DiCaprio film was over with. The fact that the movie is already in the budget theaters just goes to show that maybe DiCaprio can give a film a good opening weekend, but he can't make a movie a hit. In fact, the (in my mind) overrated star isn't even the focus of this film. It's the aging Musketeers who band together again to save a kingdom. Based on the classic novel of the same name, the film joins D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) about 25 years after "The Three Musketeers," where he helped the Muskteers defeat the evil Cardinal Richielieu. Now he is head of the musketeers and loyal to his king (DiCaprio): so loyal that he can't see how corrupt the king really is. When the king sends former musketeer Athos' (John Malkovich) son to die in battle so he can romance the son's fiancee, Athos is filled with contempt for the king and is determine to avenge his son's death. He soon convinces fellow former musketeers Aramis (Jeremy Irons) and Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) to join him in his plan to overthrow the king. D'Artagnan, however, vows to continue defending him. The plan is to replace the king with his twin brother, who has been hidden from the public in a jail cell wearing an iron mask. This is one of the longest plots I've ever had to explain in a critique, and part of that is because this movie takes FOREVER to get going. It starts to really drag after an hour, and you're just hoping SOMETHING will happen. Of course, the plot is interesting, but not enough to warrant such a long set-up. When the action finally starts, the movie improves tremendously, but it still doesn't make up for the tedious first two thirds. With more emphasis on talk than action, the acting is very important, and the actors succeed in some areas, but fail in others. There are some fine performances here from all of the musketeers, except for Depardieu, who hams it up beyond the breaking point. Malkovich, especially, proves he can do more than be a sneering villain. DiCaprio shows just how limited his range is, and not for a second did I think that his two characters were different people. Again, the swashbuckling heroics are as good as can be found, but there's nowhere near enough of it, and the scenes that develop the plot just can't hold the audience's interest enough to make this a well-rounded film, despite a few noble efforts. ** 1/2

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