The Three Musketeers (2011)

Synopsis
The three Musketeers go to Venice to steal Leonardo da Vinci's Airship blueprints, but are double crossed by Milady who gives the plans to the Duke of Buckingham. On their return to Paris they are disbanded by Cardinal Richelieu for their failure.

A year later a young D'Artagnan moves to Paris and befriends the three former Musketeers. They unite and attempt to stop Cardinal Richelieu's plans to engulf Europe in war and seize the French throne.

Storyline   ★★★☆☆
The Three Musketeers is an action movie based on Alexandre Dumas' classic book. The movie doesn't slow down between action scenes, and the story ties it up together well. Unfortunately the dialogue is simple, and the humour silly.

Purists might not be happy that certain elements in the story have been changed, but on the other hand this stops people familiar with the original from guessing what's coming next.

This is a family friendly movie, and certain elements of the book have been sanitized. Other parts have been changed to leave room for a possible sequel. ☠ Spoiler Alert » All the book's references to sexuality have been removed, the Queen's infidelity becomes a plan by the Cardinal to make her look unfaithful, and main characters who died in the book remain alive in anticipation of a sequel. « Spoiler Alert ☠

Visuals   ★★★★☆
The visuals show all the grandeur of King Louis XIII's palace and the details of the 17th century world. The CGI is believable, and the 3D effects are some of the best I've seen, with every room and street having real depth.

I like it when a director has trademarks, such as repeating certain themes, symbols or a filming style throughout his / her movies. I also enjoy homages and references to other works. However here director Paul W.S. Anderson copied every iconic scene, including visual style and camera angle from his own Resident Evil movies.

Surely this movie merits having it's own original iconic moments? Have a look at the trailer above, and see how many scenes you can spot that have been copied directly from the Resident Evil movies.

Steampunk Factor   ★★★☆☆
There are no steam powered machines or gadgets here, but Leonardo da Vinci's vault locking mechanism is interesting, and the leather diving suit too. The real Steampunk star here are the flying galleons!

Final Verdict   ★★★★☆
Good story, exciting action scenes, rich visuals, and airship battles! The wow factor is boosted significantly if you've never watched the Resident Evil films before.