This second part of Martin Bourboulon’s Alexandre Dumas adaptation is every bit as dashing and daring as its predecessor – helpfully recapped here – making it officially the best new action franchise of 2023 (part 1 came out in April) that is also the best new action franchise of 1844. It manages to feel faithful even when the plot deviates wildly from the books, because it never loses sight of the essential elements and earns the leeway to throw some new complications at its sword-wielding heroes and villains without the purists blowing their tops.a
Eva Green’s full range of skills have rarely been so thoroughly showcased. As sneaky noble woman Milady, she seduces and double-crosses, fences and fights, plots and panics, often dressed as a man and looking somehow even cooler than last time. She is also very much the driver of the plot: as the Musketeers head off to fight the Protestants of La Rochelle on the behest of Louis XIII (Louis Garrel), she weaves among all the warring sides and leaves chaos in her wake. D’Artagnan (François Civil) encounters her early on in his desperate search for his kidnapped girlfriend Constance (Lyna Khoudri), and belatedly realises that Milady may be the lost wife of Athos (Vincent Cassel). Cue romantic complications for both men.
An adventure yarn has rarely been so thoroughly satisfying
There is an amusing side quest for Aramis (Romain Duris) and Porthos (Pio Marmaï) involving a novice nun, which is just as well as the main narrative has very little for them to do, and in fact some deeply funny moments for Milady and D’Artagnan as well. As before, there’s endless joy in watching Civil’s befuddled D’Artagnan. This is a kid who has never had a second thought in his life and whose brow furrows desperately every time he’s faced with a problem he can’t immediately stab.
It all zips merrily along, sprinkling in some actual history to bolster all the plotting and sprinkling in a few new characters, like Ralph Amoussou’s ice-veined musketeer Hannibal. The story only occasionally pauses, usually to linger lovingly on a meticulously realised field of troops or a galloping horse (so many galloping horses). Then it’s ducking and spinning around its scrapping heroes as they take on another army of foes. An adventure yarn, which is unabashedly this film’s genre, has rarely been so thoroughly satisfying. And with an ending that suggests this two-parter is actually a series, it looks like chivalry won’t be dying any time soon.
In UK cinemas Dec 15.