Director: Kevin Reynolds
Writer: Jay Wolpert (Screenplay) Alexandre Dumas (Novel)
Starring: Jim Caviezel, Henry Cavill, Guy Pearce, Dagmara Dominczyk, Richard Harris, Michael Wincott, James Frain
Plot: A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous “friend”, escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
Tagline – Prepare for adventure. Count on revenge.
Runtime: 2 Hours 11 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Entertaining Adventure
Story: The Count of Monte Cristo starts as two French soldiers Edmond (Caviezel) and Fernand (Pearce) search for help, only for Edmond accepting a letter from an enemy, his bravery to save his captain see Edmond promoted to captain, with his life with Mercedes (Dominczyk) ready to marry him.
Edmond is however charged with treason with Fernand agreeing with the charges, locked up on a remote prison to rot, until he comes up with a plan to escape and extract his very own revenge on the people that left him there.
Thoughts on The Count of Monte Cristo
Characters – Edmond is the innocent natured soldier who will often get his unit in trouble with his kind-nature finding him convicted of treason, betrayed by his best friend and locked up in a prison with no escape, no visitors and no hope. This changes for him, when he meets a stranger, another prisoner who asks him to help him escape in exchange for an education. Returning home Edmond looks to extract his own revenge on his best friend, one that will take years to achieve. Fernand is the drunken best friend of Edmond who has always waiting for his chance with his partner, he betrays Edmond for his own jealousy living the life Edmond was meant to have. Mercedes is woman Edmond is meant to marry, only after he is locked away, Fernand takes his place.
Performances – Jim Caviezel in the leading role is a joy to watch, showing us the man that was betrayed, an innocent man, before showing us the more vengeful side to his character. Guy Pearce as the seedy figure is great to watch, you just want to see him pay for what he did to Edmond. In the supporting cast, we do get strong performances too, with them letting Caviezel take the center stage.
Story – The story here follows one man who is wrongfully imprisoned for years, where he plans his own revenge on the man that sent him to prison, a plan that will take years to execute. This is from the classic novel by Alexander Dumas, which tells the story of how one man could become consumed by his vengeance, as he searches for some reason to continue living, after seeing his own life taken from him. We do get to play into the idea of hope, while greed will also be a major factor in certain decisions that occur through the film. Seeing how everything unfolds showed us just how quickly can be spun on its head for the victims of the world, but the honest people will always remember the important part of life.
Action/Adventure – The action isn’t as heavy as it could be, with a couple of fights being held off for the key moments, when we look at the pure adventure side of everything, we get to see just how important this world will become to everyone involved.
Settings – The settings look fantastic, showing us just how the world have been created to make us believe we are in the era the film is set in.
Scene of the Movie – The Count’s first party.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Could have seen more of the rise of Fernand.
Final Thoughts – This is a hugely enjoyable adventure movie, that shows us just how one man’s revenge can take time to feel the best.
Overall: Entertaining.
