Dan Mclellan

COUNT ON SWASHBUCKLING FUN

DAN MCLELLAN

Originally published Friday, February 8, 2002

Having never read Dumas' story of betrayal and revenge, I walked into "The Count of Monte Cristo" expecting nothing more than a competent swashbuckler. But director Kevin Reynolds has delivered a tremendously entertaining throwback to Richard Lester's "The Three Musketeers." It's a refreshingly simple story with a noble, mistreated hero and his slimy nemesis.

Edmund Dantes (Jim Caviezel) has it all -- a loving fiancee, a dear friend and a brand new promotion to captain of the ship he serves on. That is until he is unjustly arrested for treason. Apparently his friend Mondego (Guy Pearce) isn't so keen on Dantes' perfect life and decides to take it from him. Imprisoned for 13 years, Dantes spends his time doing two things: educating himself in the ways of culture and the sword, and plotting a horrible revenge against all those who mistreated him.

The movie is long and full, but the story itself is classic and straight-forward. You know for whom to root and at whom to hiss, which is a pleasant change from the tortured anti-heroes of late. A movie worth seeing with an audience, "Monte Cristo" offers plenty of reasons to laugh, gasp and cheer. The film's only purpose is to entertain the audience. There are no campaigns for Oscars here, just some great, hammy performances and killer swordplay. The delightful lack of pretentiousness makes this movie so much easier to swallow, unlike Reynolds' previous effort, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." That film took itself far too seriously and invited unintentional laughter at moments of seriousness. It was only enjoyable when Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham was on screen. He really let loose and by enjoying the role himself, let the audience enjoy themselves.

The three male leads of "Monte Christo," Caviezel, Pearce and Richard Harris as Dantes' tutor, all steal the show from each other, giving wonderfully campy performances that allow the audience to swallow some of the unwieldy and silly lines of dialogue. Pearce shines above the rest for being utterly loathsome as Mondego. By the end of the movie the audience wants this guy dead.

The object of both men's affection is Mercedes. The actress's name is unimportant, as is her portrayal of the emotionally tortured love interest. She can't handle such an important part, and the movie suffers because of it. Her lines are delivered with a Shakespearean seriousness, and this isn't Shakespeare. She is one of the few weaknesses of "Monte Cristo."

The other main weakness is the inclusion of cheesy action-hero catchphrases, such as "I'm a Count, not a Saint." Neither needed nor wanted, these anachronistic moments pulled me out of my enjoyment and took away from the overall experience.

Say what you will about "Waterworld," Kevin Reynolds can direct exciting action scenes. And "Cristo" is full of them, from innovative sword fights to a daring escape from a prison, this is meant to be a thrill ride for the audience, and for the most part it succeeds. Aside from Mercedes' lackluster performance and some inappropriate lines of dialogue, "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a genuinely entertaining film from start to finish, with not one, but three great performances. It's highly recommended to fans of adventure -- or to anyone, for that matter.

Daniel McLellan is a freshman at Olympia High School.

'The Count of Monte Cristo'

* * *

- Rating: PG-13.

- Playing: Lacey 8 Cinemas, Shelton Cinemas and Yelm Cinemas.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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