Saturday, October 22, 2011

Five Reasons To See 'The Three Musketeers'

We've already kicked you five rather surprising things you need to know about Paul W.S. Anderson's 3-D take on "The Three Musketeers," strange things like how Orlando Bloom based his flamboyant character on Ziggy Stardust and that Milla Jovovich's breasts are method actors.

If such kooky facts aren't enough to convince you to check out the flick this weekend, then knowing this take on the classic Alexandre Dumas story contains quite a few other surprises might. While you get fair maidens in corsets and sword fights galore, Anderson introduces a whole lot of contemporary bling into the mix: steampunk airships, excellent 3-D effects and more. So here are five reasons to see "The Three Musketeers."

The Absence of a Bryan Adams Song
First things first: when moviegoers of a certain age think about this iconic threesome on the big screen, they likely flash back to a rather unfortunate 1993 adaptation starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland and Chris O'Donnell, a film which boasted a cheestastic single called "All for Love," courtesy of Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting.

Not fun times. Thankfully, Anderson's film couldn't be more different than the previous version, even if both flicks follow similar storylines. As you'll see in subsequent reasons, the director (who's best known for the "Resident Evil" franchise) brings top-notch effects work and creative fight scenes to the movie.

Real 3-D
Speaking of those three dimensions, Anderson shot his film with 3-D cameras and didn't have to deal with a controversial 3-D conversion process. And wisely, the director mostly uses 3-D to create depth ? as if you're looking through a window into a new world ? rather than using 3-D as a poke-your-eye-out gimmick. Mostly. Watch out for a Musketeer sword or two jutting out of the screen.

Bloom Gone Bad
We'll let costar Orlando Bloom take this one. "They wanted me to be part of the movie as Duke of Buckingham, as opposed to playing one of the Musketeers," he told us recently. "That sold me. The idea that I got to be the kind of villain, sort of a bad boy, bit of a rogue. Lot of fun. Fun, fun, fun! I get to be an arrogant prick and get away with it!"

Meet Gabriella Wilde
If you've never heard of Gabriella Wilde before, you'll be hearing a lot about her in the future. The English actress is making her Hollywood debut in "Three Musketeers" as the lady-in-waiting to Queen Anne of Austria, a job that requires her to wear a ton of corseted dresses and look great doing it. Wilde was born to be in a period piece.

The Airships
About those airships. Explained in the film as the product of Leonardo da Vinci's actual designs, these suckers are a hot-air balloon-meets-galleon hybrid. The arrival of the first airship is an eye-popping bit of anachronistic big-screen fun. Then more show up on the scene. The climax of the film marries intense sword fights with an epic aerial battle above the streets of Paris. 17th-century Europe has never seen anything quite like this. Neither have you. Check it out.

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