nan | 楠木

Kevin Reynolds, who is perhaps most noted for bringing us one of the biggest flops in movie history – Waterworld, delivers a competent adventure film in his adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Granted that this is no serious work of art, the film is nonetheless likable for several reasons. James Caviezel and Guy Pearce head an impressive ensemble cast, and the two leads are notably well placed as Dantes and Mondego. The lavish setting, art design and fancy locales make this period piece pleasant to the eyes. And the classic plot of revenge, while offering no surprises, has few elements demanding criticism and establishes a solid basis for the film. The narrative is smooth and punctual, making the film easily enjoyable.
My only fault with the film is regarding its structure and tempo. The original novel is a fairly lengthy piece, and even though the film is running at 131 minutes, it still has a lot of ground to cover. The film chose to spend about half its length in setting up the premise for revenge, i.e. Dantes’ being cast into prison and meeting the priest (a fine performance by Richard Harris) who teaches him a range of skills and tells him of the hidden treasure. The latter half is spent detailing Dantes’ plot of vengeance. I felt that this was not enough time, and consequently it appeared all too easy – the plan was hastily explained, and executed, and we saw no difficulty in Dantes’ achieving his goal. From a storytelling point of view, the climax was not exciting enough.
Aside from this point though, I felt that this was quite a competent film. Good old-school adventure.
7/10