A film by Kevin Reynolds
This is the recent film adaptation of Dumas s classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo . From the previews and early reviews of the movie I did not expect too much from it, but when someone whose opinion I trust tells me that it is good and that I should watch it, I was willing to give it a chance. Good thing, because this is a pretty good movie.
The story, if you are not familiar with the source material, follows Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel). Dantes, in the film, is a sailor and the film opens with Dantes and his friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pierce) trying find refuge on an island because their captain is dying. The island just happens to be the prison island where Napoleon is exiled, and while they get help, Napoleon asks Dantes if he could take a personal, and innocent, letter to a friend. Dantes agrees. Dantes returns to France and does not have a chance to deliver the letter, though we do see his fianc Mercedes Iguanada (Dagmara Dominczyk) and a little bit of Mondego s jealousy. Dantes is betrayed and turned into the authorities for treason. That innocent letter that Dantes was to deliver was not so innocent after all. The magistrate has Dantes thrown in prison where he will spend the next several years.
This is where the movie truly begins. Dantes was innocent and he was betrayed (we soon learn that Mondego is now married to Mercedes), and he wants his revenge, though he has no avenue to pursue his revenge while in prison. While in prison, Dantes meets Abbe Faria (Richard Harris), a man who is digging a tunnel (slowly, inch by inch) to escape. Faria trains Dantes in the sword, teaches him how to read, science, literature, politics, and how to be a noble. He also tells Dantes of a treasure, the treasure of Monte Cristo, that may or may not exist.
We wouldn t have a story if Dantes is unable to escape or pursue his revenge, so I m not spoiling anything by revealing that. Dantes sets himself up as the Count of Monte Cristo with the help of a man named Jacopo (Luis Guzman). Dantes is now free to pursue his revenge.
The story feels like it has been simplified a little bit, but this film is good enough, and slick enough, and entertaining enough, that this is a very enjoyable movie to watch. No film can ever capture the nuance of a novel, especially not a 1000 page novel. With the amount of time allotted this film, The Count of Monte Cristo succeeds at being an entertaining film.
This is the recent film adaptation of Dumas s classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo . From the previews and early reviews of the movie I did not expect too much from it, but when someone whose opinion I trust tells me that it is good and that I should watch it, I was willing to give it a chance. Good thing, because this is a pretty good movie.
The story, if you are not familiar with the source material, follows Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel). Dantes, in the film, is a sailor and the film opens with Dantes and his friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pierce) trying find refuge on an island because their captain is dying. The island just happens to be the prison island where Napoleon is exiled, and while they get help, Napoleon asks Dantes if he could take a personal, and innocent, letter to a friend. Dantes agrees. Dantes returns to France and does not have a chance to deliver the letter, though we do see his fianc Mercedes Iguanada (Dagmara Dominczyk) and a little bit of Mondego s jealousy. Dantes is betrayed and turned into the authorities for treason. That innocent letter that Dantes was to deliver was not so innocent after all. The magistrate has Dantes thrown in prison where he will spend the next several years.
This is where the movie truly begins. Dantes was innocent and he was betrayed (we soon learn that Mondego is now married to Mercedes), and he wants his revenge, though he has no avenue to pursue his revenge while in prison. While in prison, Dantes meets Abbe Faria (Richard Harris), a man who is digging a tunnel (slowly, inch by inch) to escape. Faria trains Dantes in the sword, teaches him how to read, science, literature, politics, and how to be a noble. He also tells Dantes of a treasure, the treasure of Monte Cristo, that may or may not exist.
We wouldn t have a story if Dantes is unable to escape or pursue his revenge, so I m not spoiling anything by revealing that. Dantes sets himself up as the Count of Monte Cristo with the help of a man named Jacopo (Luis Guzman). Dantes is now free to pursue his revenge.
The story feels like it has been simplified a little bit, but this film is good enough, and slick enough, and entertaining enough, that this is a very enjoyable movie to watch. No film can ever capture the nuance of a novel, especially not a 1000 page novel. With the amount of time allotted this film, The Count of Monte Cristo succeeds at being an entertaining film.
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