The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
Edmond Dantés's life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are shattered when his best friend, Fernand, deceives him. After spending 13 miserable years in prison, Dantés escapes with the help of a fellow inmate and plots his revenge, cleverly insinuating himself into the French nobility.
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Always a good story and this cinema version is still pretty good today. Great sets, great acting, great views, great battles. This film aged well. It was the second time I saw it.
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.
Dumas would be rolling in his grave if he could see what disaster of a movie plot claims this fantastic work of his. The story has been butchered in the worst possible ways, including miscasting and mediocre acting. It is not even worth watching if you are a fan of the novel by the same name.A scene with a hot air balloon, 4 women sliding down ropes, announcing the arrival of the Count was preposterous. Other ridiculous scenes include his servant (in the book he is a mute Nubian), which is a Hispanic right out of Puerto Rico.The end is also confusing. In a word, this story is wrong on so many levels, it is no wonder it cost $35 million and grossed $54 million, hardly enough to pay the cast and support staff.
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.