You know you're watching a commerical compromise when shots of Marceau's super-healthy (and fully tanned, mind you) breasts make two different appearances to satisfy those who fork out their ticket money for such things alone. I'm not complaining but it's obvious that with international sex kitten Marceau on hand for the lead role in an established 'franchise' like "The 3 Musketeers" Tavernier decided to just have silly fun here, and that's too bad because this film is clever and could've been great with a little more effort. Of course, if Tavernier had gone all out and made the true oddball masterpiece he's proven himself capable of with films as diverse as "Capitaine Conan", "L.627" and "The Clockmaker," Miramax/Disney would've probably never picked the film up for video distribution and renamed it "Revenge of the Musketeers" (D'Artagnan's Daughter sounds a little too sissified for the swashbucker demographic don't you think?). Marceau is good in the lead role and spectacular in the swordfighting scenes but it's obvious she wasn't asked to push herself too hard to act authentic beyond the athleticism required to shoot the action scenes. Philip Noiret is his always fabulous self and without him the film would've been a total bore; his brilliant portrayal of the old but far from over the hill D'Artagnan picks the film up whenever the audience gets tired of staring at Marceau, but it's not enough to keep it from dragging on. Overall, it looks like Tavernier was trying for something in the vicinity of Philip De Broca's classic 1960s adventure films "Cartouche" and "That Man from Rio" but except for a few scenes here and there, comes up short of their comic book poetry.
Review of Revenge of the Musketeers
