Writer: Syahida Kamarudin

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Watch this if you liked: “Sherlock Holmes”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Man in the Iron Mask”.

Yes, it is very weird when the overall rating for this movie is only 2.5 stars despite the many stars given for the cast, plot and effect rating. But that sums up what "The Three Musketeers" is all about. It's bombastic but boring. It has an idea but poor execution. It's a beautiful mess, but a mess all the same.

This is the movie that is great to watch on 3D. The picture quality is terrific, and the cinematography is twice as magnificent from the ordinary. Each and every sword fight and effects can be experienced with bigger magnitude, especially scenes between the unique warships.

It's not really fair to compare this Paul W. Anderson's work with a much more solid work of Randall Wallace's "The Man in the Iron Mask" (1998). For one, Wallace made a serious film with a fine cast. This "Resident Evil" franchise director however, is much more interested in making antediluvian slow-motion shots that was supposed to bid farewell together with "The Matrix" series.

Anderson's interpretation of the musketeers is almost comical and over-the-top. It's like a drugged C-rated combination of Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" (2009) and Gore Verbinski's "Pirates of the Caribbean" (2003). Milla Jovovich's character is too much like Rachel McAdams' Irene Adler of "Sherlock Holmes" but less lady-like and too much like her "Ultraviolet" character. Freddie Fox looks more like fashion designer John Galliano than King Louis XIII and Orlando Bloom is too painful to watch.

Most frustrating however is Matthew Macfadyen. As one of Britain's talented stage actor, his Athos is brooding much and the background story between Athos and his love for Milady is too fast and patched up that it fails to attract audiences. The lines trying too much to be witty and the ending - where everybody's front is facing the camera, made it feel like an early 90s Tamil movie or a TVB drama where it all ends happily ever after. Not in any way bad, but not a classy move for a Hollywood film.

However, if you are the kind of person who loves Paul WS Anderson's take on "Resident Evil", you will love this.

Cinema Online, 07 October 2011