3D新片《三个火枪手》

Of the more than 20 adaptations* of Alexandre Dumas' 1844 bestseller, Paul W.S. Anderson's "The Three Musketeers" may be the most expensive but is mainly notable* for being the first 3D version of the tale.

This first period picture from Anderson, a director who's established a following in the futuristic* and fantasy* genres, features an American, Logan Lerman, in the lead, with a European supporting cast.

Scriptwriters Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies at times follow closely Dumas's original story, at least in the first half, as young peasant D'Artagnan (Lerman) travels to Paris, hoping to become a Musketeer, one of the elite* guard protecting the king of France. He quickly meets and makes enemy with the three most famous musketeers, the sardonic* Athos (Matthew McFadyen), the serious Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and the guileful* Aramis (Luke Evans).

After some frictions*, he joins forces with them just as they have to deal with pan-European intrigues* involving Englishman Buckingham (Orlando Bloom) and King Louis's right-hand man, the devious* Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz). A wild-card* element is provided by Milady DeWinter (Milla Jovovich), a former colleague of the musketeers — and a former lover of Athos — who is now plotting with their enemies for her own gain. Jovovich gets a couple of fancy action sequences*.

Lerman's performance is bland*. D'Artagnan's romance with sad girl Constance (Gabriella Wilde) is all too lukewarm*, as the hero sounds and acts more like a 21st-century American teen than a swordsman of past Europe. The 3D effects are not satisfactory.

Rather like Ridley Scott's "Robin Hood," Anderson's picture ends just as its story should really be kicking into life - there's an unmistakable and frustrating "end of part one" mood to the final sequence, though making this ending so open and sequel-ready may turn out to be too optimistic*.

adaptation 改编

notable 值得注意的

futuristic 未来的

fantasy 幻想作品

elite 精英的

sardonic 讽刺的

guileful 狡猾的

friction 摩擦

intrigue 阴谋

devious 不正直的

wild-card 出乎意料的

sequence 一连串

bland 平淡的

lukewarm 温吞的

optimistic 乐观的