I Watch Films: The Three Musketeers: Milady

 

The Three Musketeers: Milady

At the end of The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan, D’Artagnan was kidnapped while trying to rescue his kidnapped crush Constance. Escaping he takes hostage the Comte de Chalais and demands to be taken to the woman who they took prisoner. To his surprise it’s Milady de Winter (Eva Green) and the two make a daring escape. Milady tries to seduce him, fails, leaves.

(The Comte de Chalais was working for Gaston, the King’s brother, while Milady was working for Cardinal Richelieu, the King’s chief minister; D’Artagnan and Constance were working for the Queen (the King’s wife))

Following the assassination attempt by Protestants at the end of the last film the King has finally declared war, sending the army to lay siege to La Rochelle. The musketeers, an elite firearms unit, are sent there. Milady again tries to seduce D’Artagnan, who discovers she has been branded and realises she’s his friend Athos’s wife (and mother of his son), thought dead.

The musketeers take part in a daring raid, escalading into the city. It turns out they’ve been betrayed by the Comte de Chalais to the defenders in an attempt to get rid of them, but they were expecting that and Hannibal, a character who we thought was just adding interest to the siege camp, leads a rescue effort.

Milady is ordered to England to assassinate the Duke Of Buckingham before he can send reinforcements to La Rochelle. D’Artagnan learns that Constance is now safe and under the protection of the Duke Of Buckingham. Athos learns that his brother, one of the Protestant leaders, has been condemned to death by drowning, deserts to rescue him, and he D’Artagnan and Aramis head to England.

Milady is caught but convinces Constance she’s a victim and they exchange clothes so she can escape. When the executioners come they don’t believe Constance and she’s hanged, dying in D’Artagnan’s arms. Milady, at bay, sets fire to the palace; D’Artagnan plunges in and they fight, but both survive. D’Artagnan and friends clear themselves and others of treason, with evidence against Gaston and the Comte de Chalais. The film, inevitably, ends with another abduction.

This gets a little darker, every time we respect or feel sorry for Milady she turns around and does some villainy. And every time someone stands up to do something heroic it’s made dirty or difficult or pointless or plays into the enemy’s hands. D’Artagnan and Athos get the main plots here, Aramis and Porthos do have their own comic sidestory but mostly come into their own in the action scenes, which remain superb. The setpiece complex brawls with dozens of stunt fighters running and fencing and getting shot are very good, the one-on-one fights generally excellent. And some long shots, where the characters are crossing huge, immaculately 17^th century style sets, are extraordinary, and aid in immersing us in the story. There’s no final ending but then again… maybe another entry would not be a bad thing.

Watch This: Gritty, excellent swashbuckler, marrying 21^st century filmmaking to period drama
Don’t Watch This: Flits from light-hearted banter and hijinks to betrayal and tragedy in an instant