I Watch Films: The Man In The Iron Mask (1998)

 

The Man In The Iron Mask (1998)

Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio) maintains a lavish lifestyle despite the common people being poor due to taxes to pay for war. When his advisers suggest giving them food he sends rotten food rejected for his troops. This almost causes a riot but is stopped by the Captain of Musketeers D’Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne). Learning that there is a renegade Jesuit plot to assassinate him, Louis asks former musketeer Aramis (Jeremey Irons) to stop them.

At court Louis seduces Christine, sending her fiancé Raoul to death in the wars. This is a mistake as Raoul is the son of Athos (John Malkovich), another former musketeer. Aramis invites his old comrades Athos, D’Artagnan and Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) who for some reason is suicidal* where he reveals that Louis made a mistake as Aramis himself is in fact the secret head of the Jesuits. D’Artagnan refuses to join the plot, but the others are willing to attempt Aramis’s plan.

That plan is to break into the secret prison where there is a man in the iron mask, the king’s twin brother (Leonardo DiCaprio). They break him out, tutor him and attempt to swap him for the real Louis, intending to make him a better king. As might be expected complications ensue.

This feels slightly awkward, all these actors not quite fluid in the faux-old fashioned speech, not quite able to be stylised either. For that matter the fights are good at their best, but not especially inventive. This didn’t update swashbucklers, perhaps because we’re bringing back the distinctly middle-aged and cynical musketeers for one last adventure – but we’ve not seen the other adventures? Why start here might be the question. Perhaps because the Iron Mask**, the twins, the ludicrous plot. Or perhaps because they could get all these named actors together?

Watch This: Entertaining swashbuckler
Don’t Watch This: Lot of men plotting stupidly

* 25 years of being the butt of the comedy might do this, and worse because this film neglects the musketeers' servants he has no one to comically bully

** For another version of this story see here; for a different king in an iron mask, see here