The
Musketeers
(2014/BBC Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B Episodes: C
Ready
for some good ole' fashioned swordfighting? Angry disputes over card
games? Beautiful women needed saved from adventurous peril?
Brotherly bonding to defeat the forces of evil? Then you are looking
for The
Musketeers
- a well produced BBC miniseries that brings the classic literary
tale to life with a decent lineup of actors (Luke Pasqualino, Tom
Burke, Howard Charles, Santiago Cabrera) to portray the Musketeers.
Set in 1630 Paris, D'Artagnan, Athos, Aramis and Porthos are a group
of highly trained musketeers who fight to protect the King and
Country and are commanded by Captain Treville. Witty, charming,
smart, and inseparable, the four Musketeers fight to maintain order
against the dastardly reign of Cardinal Richelieu (Peter Capaldi) and
his beautiful hired Assassin. (There's also an appearance by actor
Vinnie Jones in Episode 8 if you are a fan of his work.) In short,
the network decided that since Sherlock
worked that they would (hopefully) have some luck with this literary
series.
The
show itself is nothing too special, probably why there hasn't been a
whole lot of buzz about it lately. I feel that this story has been
remade so many times that unless you really put a crazy spin on the
time setting or the characters themselves that it feels like already
explored territory. The set pieces and the look of the show is fine
but the plot is rather predictable and the dialogue at times weak.
It does take some liberties with its source material but not nearly
as much so as Paul W.S. Anderson's Hollywood version that came out a
few years ago in 3D (reviewed elsewhere on this site, you didn't miss
anything by not seeing it. This is also not to be confused with
Peter Hyams' The
Musketeer,
a title in the singular).
This
release from BBC however is an exceptional presentation - containing
all ten original episodes in high definition including the episodes
Friends
and Enemies, Sleight of Hand, Commodities, The Good Soldier,
Homecoming, The Exiles, A Rebellious Woman, The Challenge, Knight
Takes Queen,
and Musketeers
Don't Die Easily.
The
1080p 16x9 high definition transfer is pretty crisp and sharp
throughout. (BBC definitely delivers when it comes to picture and
sound presentation.) The DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo lossless track sounds
fine and dwarfs its original broadcast presentation. English SDH are
also available. Total Running Time for the first season is 578
minutes.
Extras
on the disc are Creating
Their World, Bootcamp, Muskets, Leather, Corsets and Swords, and
Saving Constance: Their Finest Hour.
The
show isn't terrible but certainly isn't as entertaining as Game
of Thrones.
However, if you are a fan of the original story then this update may
be worth checking out.
-
James Harland Lockhart V
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv
