The Three Musketeers - Chapter II: Milady

Fleur-de-Eva

The Three Musketeers
Chapter II: Milady
Directed by Martin Bourboulon
France/Germany/
Spain/Belgium 2023
Pathe
UK Cinema Print

Made back to back with The Three Musketeers - Chapter I: d’Artagnan (reveiwed here) over a 150 day shoot and released in cinemas in the same year as the first installment, The Three Musketeers - Chapter II - Milady picks up from the cliffhanger ending of the first film but, not before providing a lengthy recap of the events as they played out in the first part (not unlike Richard Lester’s The Four Musketeers did back in the 1970s - review coming in 2024). And this one probably needs it more than most versions if you’ve not seen that first part in a while because, well, to say that this ‘adaptation’ plays hard and fast with Alexandre Dumas’ original writings would be an understatement. I don’t mind that so much because I’ve honestly never seen a filmed version of The Three Musketeers which didn’t stray far from the source material but, yeah, don’t go into this one thinking it’s a faithful version, just because it’s French. It’s got all the tragedy of the original in regards to certain characters but... yeah, the producers do try to have their cake and eat it here by quite pointedly leaving it open for a character to return in some kinda sequel... who certainly didn’t survive beyond this point in the original book.

Because it was all made in one lump, all the cast from the original movie are here for this including the wonderful Four Musketeers played by François Civil (d’Artagnan), the always brilliant Vincent Cassel (as Athos, I’m really not used to seeing this guy playing a heroic character), Romain Duris (Aramis) and Pio Marmaï (Porthos). There’s also Lyna Khoudri as Constance (hardly appearing in this part of the story at all... much like Raquel Welch dropping out of the narrative for a while in the Richard Lester versions) and the incredible Eva Green as arch villainess Milady. Despite playing fast and loose with the character of Milady (not to mention d’Artagnan’s almost complete lack of amorous interest in her compared to his actions in the original story), Green sets the screen on fire as she always does and makes a very memorable version of the character... not to mention getting more involved with the brawling and sword fighting this time around.

Like the first movie, it’s enjoyable hokum and it’s filmed in a very gritty style. Lots of moving camerawork and with most of the fights being done in either single or very long sets of takes with the camera following the action and splitting off at multiple key moments to ‘catch what the next person is up to’ in the heat of battle. What this does is adds a sheen, no matter how artificial, of truth via a fly on the wall style approach to the squirmishes, lending the film a much needed air of credence to counteract just how many liberties are being taken with the story. 

The gorgeous score by Guillaume Roussel also keeps things grounded in the grit and speed of the unfolding story, giving the beautifully shot scenes an audio resonance that distracts from the narrative departures effectively.

So, yeah, look on the way the story unfolds as just a different set of directions for the tale which, in all honesty, still very much has the seeds to take the same cast into the next part of the saga... Twenty Years After, should they decide to come back and do that at some point. Perhaps sooner than later because, for some reason, this new movie version very much leaves things on a cliffhanger ending again... which I wasn’t expecting.

A short review alas but, all in all I have to say that The Three Musketeers - Chapter II: Milady is an enjoyable romp and a good piece of adventure cinema which keeps the blood pumping, displaying equal parts action, romance, comedy, betrayal and tragedy as it gallops towards its conclusion. Will definitely be picking this one up on Blu Ray when it comes out.