The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

For a classical period, excellent adventure/action story with also excellent acting*, well worth your time. All the characters, which include Guy Pearce who is a fine all around actor, are top notch in their roles. Photography, locations, (Malta/Ireland) and a story you want to know is based from Alexander Dumas's book of the 1800's, remember this is a great entertainment. Remember that the movie puts you exactly early 1800's and not a Hollywood flick. The single drawback is the lead female character, "Mercedes" of which the attempted actress Dagmara ..... just drives you up the wall with her wispering, mouth full of marbles, what she thinks is projecting dialogue is impossible. You have to get the volume way up to try to understand her. How they avoided dubbing in any good actress's voice onto her's is a mystery. Otherwise, you will be entertained of the first order. Personally, I wanted to see it again to get a lot more out of the movie.

Hollywood does not seem to understand that it isn't necessary to re-invent a classic story to keep it interesting, when the classic story has proven itself most interesting to generations of readers. This is a Disney-fied version of the Dumas story, as "improved" by Reynolds and Wolpert who are given the green-light by test audiences and studio executives to alter the original story. While one couldn't expect to compress a lengthy novel into a a few hours of film, this is a re-make for Americans who aren't literate enough to enjoy reading the book or watching an authentic European version that might require them to read subtitles.I also do not appreciate IMBd promoting this movie, (selecting it automatically without any choice having been made, from several titles about MONTE CRISTO.

After being betrayed by his best friend and sent for many years into a remote prison, a man loses all faith and is almost convinced he's going to die there, without even understanding the precise reason for his detention. Fortunately for him, a fellow prisoner teaches him all that he knew and aids him to escape, while leaving him a hint to a great fortune. From there, he's free to unleash his revenge on those whose greed destroyed his life.It's a movie which simply excels in drama, presenting in detail the main character's harsh life behind bars without generating any boredom or lack of interest. It manages to keep suspense throughout its length, through its complex and well defined characters. The plot is also very good, especially until the finale, where it falls into a simplistic trap. I was mostly impressed by the prison scenes which make you feel bad for the main character and even worry about his faith. The finale is decent, but it could have been much better thought, without leaving the impression that it was rushed or that the producers remained out of original or unpredictable ideas. It's OK, but compared with the overall movie, it seems to lack depth.Overall, it's a very good movie, well thought and implemented, which proves to be a very good watch. Too bad for the finale which simply leaves it without the otherwise deserved maximum rating.

I just liked the story, so I assumed the movie would be somewhat good."Was it interesting?" There was plenty of character development, maybe too much. I would have preferred more of the film being cat and mouse revenge, but most was the setup. Everything seemed to make sense.1.5 out of 3 "Was it memorable?" Jim Caviezel performance is like most of his roles, bland. The amount of money involved in the story is a ridiculous amount.1.5 out of 3 "Was it entertaining?" A well planed revenge story is always fun for me. The action was OK, the sets were impressive, and the most of the acting was fine.2 out of 3 Starting with 1 (where I learned in prison), 1 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 2 = 6 A nice enjoyable movie with a few flaws that don't take away and of the fun.