D'Artagnan (Michael York) arrives in Paris trying to be a Musketeer after having learned from his father. He gets in trouble with Comte de Rochefort (Christopher Lee). Then he's challenged to duels with the three Musketeer Athos (Oliver Reed), Porthos (Frank Finlay) and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain). They are interrupted by Cardinal Richelieu (Charlton Heston)'s guards. The Cardinal is trying to control the weak-minded King Louis XIII. The Queen gives a diamond necklace to her former lover Duke of Buckingham which presents an opportunity for the Cardinal with the help of Milady de Winter (Faye Dunaway). D'Artagnan has an affair with his landlord's wife Constance Bonacieux (Raquel Welch) who's also the Queen's confidant.
Director Richard Lester seems to have two objectives in this movie. He wants better sword fights and as many broad comedic jokes as possible. Honesetly, the jokes make me roll my eyes more than laugh. It's like he watched Monty Python and figured to try it himself. It's kind of cute in that he's relentless in the effort. The sword fights are better than the old fashion Hollywood swashbuckling. They're a little bit more imaginative. The actors in the cast are amazing but I wouldn't say they're doing great work. I wonder how much the Golden Globe Award costs Raquel Welch. I also wonder if this would be better as a full-on comedy with a good comedic writer and some real comedians.
Director Richard Lester seems to have two objectives in this movie. He wants better sword fights and as many broad comedic jokes as possible. Honesetly, the jokes make me roll my eyes more than laugh. It's like he watched Monty Python and figured to try it himself. It's kind of cute in that he's relentless in the effort. The sword fights are better than the old fashion Hollywood swashbuckling. They're a little bit more imaginative. The actors in the cast are amazing but I wouldn't say they're doing great work. I wonder how much the Golden Globe Award costs Raquel Welch. I also wonder if this would be better as a full-on comedy with a good comedic writer and some real comedians.