Today’s quick review: 3 Musketeers. Set up by a secretive mastermind known as the Cardinal, the Musketeers (Keith Allan, Xin, and Michele Boyd), the United States’ top special ops team, inadvertently spark an international incident that could lead to war with North Korea. Blamed for the incident, the Musketeers have no choice but to rely on Alexandra D’Artagnan (Heather Hemmens), an Army intelligence agent, to clear their names and prevent a war.
3 Musketeers is a budget action movie that reimagines the Three Musketeers as a modern team of special operatives. However, apart from the names and a token amount of swordplay, the movie retains almost nothing from its source material. Instead, it opts for a generic action thriller plot that exists primarily to string together a series of flimsy action scenes. The result is a spirited but sloppy action flick with little to offer.
3 Musketeers’ budget shows in everything it does. The sets and props were clearly scraped together from whatever was available and are barely suited to the purposes the movie uses them for. The action consists of poorly choreographed fights with cheap CGI to handle bullets, explosions, and the odd helicopter chase. Most notably, the acting does almost nothing to sell the world or the story, robbing the story of what little pathos it might have.
3 Musketeers’ one saving grace is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously. The film doesn’t push this to the point of self-paordy, but it does have a loose attitude when it comes to its characters and the rules of its universe. This gives 3 Musketeers the seeds of a comedic side, but even this aspect of the film is not handled particularly well. 3 Musketeers finds itself outclassed by budget films that more thoroughly embrace their goofy side.
Watch 3 Musketeers only if you enjoy the budget action genre for its own sake. 3 Musketeers does aim higher than other buget offerings of similar caliber, but its poor execution only means that it only has farther to fall. Action fans can do better even among budget offerings, while those looking for entertaining schlock will be able to find more memorable titles elsewhere.
For a fully realized take on a similar premise, try The A-Team. For a sci-fi action movie with a similar attitude and better execution, try Lockout. For an action movie that does more with a low budget, try Point Blank.
2.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 3.5 for budget action without the skill or creativity to make good on its premise.