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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Musketeer, The

Generally unfavorable reviews
Based on 23 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 8 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Gene Quintano
Alexandre Dumas père (novel The Three Musketeers)
Directed by: Peter Hyams
Release Date:
Theatrical: September 7, 2001
DVD: February 26, 2002
Running Time: 106 minutes, Color
Origin: Germany / USA
Summary
RATING: PG-13 for intense action violence and some sexual material
Starring Justin Chambers, Catherine Deneuve, Stephen Rea, Tim Roth, and Mena Suvari
Peter Hyman's action-adventure weds the classic swordplay and chivalry of Alexandre Dumas' "The Three Musketeers" with the gravity-defying dazzle of Hong Kong action choreography. (Universal Pictures)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: A Sound of Thunder End of Days The Relic
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
For his robust and handsome The Musketeer, Hyams enlisted veteran Hong Kong stunt coordinator Xin-Xin Xiong to stage a clutch of spectacular action sequences that are amusing in the imaginative intricacy of their bravura.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
I cannot in strict accuracy recommend this film. It's such a jumble of action and motivation, ill-defined characters and action howlers.
Read Full Review >Mr. Showbiz Cody Clark
Quite handsomely produced, and there's a definite swashbuckling verve to it. Most of the characters have been contemporized, but the actors are engaging.
USA Today Mike Clark
If this is Dumas, there's a "b" in the middle and an extra "s" at the end.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Gregory Weinkauf
Moves in fits and starts, with some crafty and credible fight choreography by Xin Xin Xiong on either side of the pretty but boring middle hour.
Read Full Review >Variety Joe Leydon
A handsome but ho-hum swashbuckler that springs to life only during a few spirited scenes of acrobatic swordplay.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Charles Savage
Its failure to be extraordinary is thus all the more cutting, and its redundancy all the more unforgivable.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Rollicks and rolls, thanks mainly to Roth's over-the-top depravity and Xiong's swingin', "Crouching Tiger"-style choreography.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The novelty value of seeing 17th-century French swordsmen fight like Chinese martial artists doesn't compensate for the film's generally wooden performances and clichéd dialogue.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
A grotesque slumgullion of kung fu, studio schlock and pseudo-Dumas swashbuckling that leaves you longing for Doug Fairbanks --or even Don Ameche and The Ritz Brothers.
Boston Globe Jay Carr
The images are pretty, and Gene Quintano's screenplay gets everybody from point A to point B, though with no discernible knack for wit or subtlety.
The New York Times Stephen Holden
Dramatically as well as visually, The Musketeer conflicts with itself by trying to blend grand old- school costume drama and MTV- style rhythm and attitude into the same movie. The juxtapositions are often preposterous.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Amy Taubin
East/West fusion aside, The Musketeer is a stale Euro-pudding.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Ty Burr
Musketeer's fight scenes are underlit, overmiked, and appallingly edited, with none of the spacious grace that even routine Asian action flicks get right. Worse, the narrative scenes make less sense.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
The movie lacks the one thing that the classic "Three Musketeers" story can't do without: panache.
Read Full Review >New York Post Jonathan Foreman
An example of lazy, dumb and couldn't-care-less hack movie making.
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
The Musketeer is the worst Hollywood period film in -- it seems like ages since "American Outlaws."
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Paul Malcolm
Hyams ("End of Days," "Timecop"), who is his own cinematographer, has no idea how to shoot or compose Xiong's wired choreography.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Charles Taylor
There isn't a frame of The Musketeer that's believable even as a Hollywood re-creation of a fantasy world. It's conventionally picturesque, except in the nighttime and interior scenes, which are dark to the point of glaucoma.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Has the distinction of being the very worst of all the many film versions of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, "The Three Musketeers." Nothing else in Musketeer movie history comes even remotely close to its staggering wretchedness.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 4.1 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Shane S. gave it a10:
I loved this movie. If you no anything about France during the 17th century you would love this movie.
Joe J. gave it a 6:
I guess I enjoyed this more than most.
Robert B. gave it a 2:
Completely bland. I was hoping it would be at least a slightly fun but brainless action movie, but they mostly stick to the "brainless" aspect for the whole thing. No funny lines. Confusing action. Bored actors. Avoid!
RM Crill gave it a 1:
"Sucked" is charitable. Except for three actions sequences (which were clever and well executed), this is an hour and 45 minutes of wasted time. Awful acting, notable plot missteps, and characters whose actions defy any idenity they might have built during the film. Sucked, a lot.
Jim B. gave it a 2:
Jump, jump, swing my sword. Yawn, yawn, go home bored.
