An epic action adventure film based on Alexandre Dumas’ Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers), directed by Martin Bourboulon, starring François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmaï, and Eva Green.

A film adaptation of the famous historical adventure novel Les Trois Mousquetaires (The Three Musketeers) by French author Alexandre Dumas, first published in 1844, that tells a story of a young man named D’Artagnan who travels to Paris to join Mousquetaires de la maison militaire du roi de France (The Musketeers), a group of elite bodyguards to the King of France. It is a classic tale of adventure, friendship, and loyalty that has captured the imaginations of readers for generations.

D’Artagnan is based on Charles de Batz de Castelmore (1611 – 1673), a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of Mousquetaires de la garde, founded in 1622 by Louis XIII.

In 1627, after years of peace, the kingdom of France, is on the brink of a new religious war. King Louis XIII, still without an heir, commands a divided country. On one side, the Protestant forces supported by England. On the other, the Catholic nobility, which seeks to extend its domination. The king counts on his most powerful minister, the Cardinal de Richelieu, to restore the authority of the Crown. But many are wary of the ambitious cardinal and his thirst for power.

In this climate of conspiracies and revolts, D’Artagnan (François Civil), a young man from Gascogne, travels to Paris in the hope of joining the King’s Musketeers. On his journey, he intervenes in a kidnapping attempt that nearly gets him killed.

Gascogne was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duché de Gascogne (602 – 1453). The region is vaguely defined, most definitions put Gascogne east and south of Bordeaux.

D’Artagnan survives and successfully reaches Paris. He sneaks into the Musketeers’ headquarters and gives Captain de Tréville (Marc Barbé), a friend of his late father, his father’s letter. Tréville promises to write a letter to the director of the Royal Academy so that D’Artagnan can join the cadets.

D’Artagnan is in the Musketeers’ headquarters when he recognizes one of the henchmen who tried to kill him on the street outside. Determined to catch the mysterious man, he rushes out of the building. He unintentionally runs into Athos (Vincent Cassel), Porthos (Pio Marmaï) and Aramis (Romain Duris). Each of them is offended by D’Artagnan’s behavior, but D’Artagnan decides to settle the matter with a duel.

But before their fight can actually begin, they are interrupted by Cardinal Richelieu’s guards, who attempt to arrest everyone for illegal dueling. The four of them work together and successfully take out the troop of Cardinal Richelieu, even though they are outnumbered.

Cardinal Richelieu (Éric Ruf) reports the incident to King Louis XIII (Louis Garrel), who covertly is pleased with his musketeers’ victory and gives them a warning not to let it happen again. D’Artagnan becomes friends with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.

However, horrible news arrives early in the morning, Athos is arrested for the murder of an unknown woman. He is sentenced to death by decapitation. They must discover the true identity of the deceased woman in order to obtain proof that would prove Athos’ innocence.

The plot thickens as it becomes clear that it’s all part of Cardinal Richelieu’s grand scheme to dethrone Anne d’Autriche (Vicky Krieps), Queen of France, with the help of Milady (Eva Green).

Despite Les Trois Mousquetaires having undergone over 50 adaptations, Martin Bourboulon deftly manages to do justice to Alexandre Dumas’ beloved novel, surpassing my expectations, creating the most epic film adaptation to date. The fight scenes exude a sense of realism while the mysteries and thrills hold the audience captivated throughout its nearly two-hour runtime.

The cast’s exceptional performance shines through, even with the nuanced portrayal of D’Artagnan, who is older than the character depicted in the original text; nevertheless, François Civil impeccably proves to be the ideal fit for the role.

LES TROIS MOUSQUETAIRES: D’ARTAGNAN was theatrically released in France on 5 April 2023 by Pathé. The second part, LES TROIS MOUSQUETAIRES: MILADY is scheduled to release on 13 December. It is considered to be one of the most expensive French productions with a combined production budget of €72 million, both parts were co-produced by France, Germany, Spain and Belgium.

The two films were shot back to back for 150 days on multiple locations in France including, Palais du Louvre, Hôtel des Invalides, Château de Fontainebleau, Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Fort la Latte (Château de la Roche Goyon), Château de Chantilly, Citadelle de Saint-Malo and Troyes. Filming began on 16 August 2021, and wrapped on 3 June 2022 at Château de Farcheville. 2000 costumes, 930 technicians, 650 horses and 9000 extras were used in the production.