The Musketeer
Miramax Films | Release Date: September 7, 2001 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
27
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
7
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
For his robust and handsome The Musketeer, Hyams enlisted veteran Hong Kong stunt coordinator Xin-Xin Xiong to stage a clutch of spectacular action sequences that are amusing in the imaginative intricacy of their bravura. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I cannot in strict accuracy recommend this film. It's such a jumble of action and motivation, ill-defined characters and action howlers. Read full review
60
Mr. ShowbizCody Clark
Quite handsomely produced, and there's a definite swashbuckling verve to it. Most of the characters have been contemporized, but the actors are engaging.
50
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Moves in fits and starts, with some crafty and credible fight choreography by Xin Xin Xiong on either side of the pretty but boring middle hour. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
If this is Dumas, there's a "b" in the middle and an extra "s" at the end. Read full review
50
VarietyJoe Leydon
A handsome but ho-hum swashbuckler that springs to life only during a few spirited scenes of acrobatic swordplay. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldCharles Savage
Its failure to be extraordinary is thus all the more cutting, and its redundancy all the more unforgivable. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
Rollicks and rolls, thanks mainly to Roth's over-the-top depravity and Xiong's swingin', "Crouching Tiger"-style choreography. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The novelty value of seeing 17th-century French swordsmen fight like Chinese martial artists doesn't compensate for the film's generally wooden performances and clichéd dialogue. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeJay Carr
The images are pretty, and Gene Quintano's screenplay gets everybody from point A to point B, though with no discernible knack for wit or subtlety.
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A grotesque slumgullion of kung fu, studio schlock and pseudo-Dumas swashbuckling that leaves you longing for Doug Fairbanks --or even Don Ameche and The Ritz Brothers.
33
Portland OregonianDiana Abu-Jaber
Appallingly flat. Read full review
30
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
East/West fusion aside, The Musketeer is a stale Euro-pudding. Read full review
30
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Dramatically as well as visually, The Musketeer conflicts with itself by trying to blend grand old- school costume drama and MTV- style rhythm and attitude into the same movie. The juxtapositions are often preposterous. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
The movie lacks the one thing that the classic "Three Musketeers" story can't do without: panache. Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
What a stupefying thing it is. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyTy Burr
Musketeer's fight scenes are underlit, overmiked, and appallingly edited, with none of the spacious grace that even routine Asian action flicks get right. Worse, the narrative scenes make less sense. Read full review
25
New York PostJonathan Foreman
An example of lazy, dumb and couldn't-care-less hack movie making.
25
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
The Musketeer is the worst Hollywood period film in -- it seems like ages since "American Outlaws." Read full review
20
L.A. WeeklyPaul Malcolm
Hyams ("End of Days," "Timecop"), who is his own cinematographer, has no idea how to shoot or compose Xiong's wired choreography. Read full review
10
SalonCharles Taylor
There isn't a frame of The Musketeer that's believable even as a Hollywood re-creation of a fantasy world. It's conventionally picturesque, except in the nighttime and interior scenes, which are dark to the point of glaucoma. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Unspeakably awful. Read full review
0
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Has the distinction of being the very worst of all the many film versions of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, "The Three Musketeers." Nothing else in Musketeer movie history comes even remotely close to its staggering wretchedness. Read full review
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