The Count of Monte Cristo

Review - Wow, was this film ever entertaining.  Not in the fast action, easily displayed, modern film way.  This is a much slower, more deliberate telling of Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of tragedy and revenge.

Kevin Reynolds (187, Waterworld, Robin Hood: Prince of Theives) masterfully directs this tale in a way that does equitable justice to the source material.  Feeling more, somber and purposeful then modern films Kevin Reynolds delivers the Dumas tale as though he were the Count himself.

James Caveizel (Frequency) and Guy Pearce (Memento, The Time Machine) star as two life long friends, one a commoner whose life has been given adventure, joy, and love.  The other, the son of a count whose guiles desires lead him to betrayal and damnation of his onetime friend.  These two guys are perfect in their roles and give a grand air to their believability.  These are two actors who you can count on for greatness in the future.

Dagmara Dominczyk stars as Mercedes, James Caveizel's lover and the straw that breaks the friendship's back.  It's for her, mostly, that Guy Pearce commits his devilish act.   Richard Harris (Gladiator and a million other films) stars as an imprisoned man on the Chateau D'If.  The mentor and educator of our future Count.  Luis Guzman (Carlito's Way) plays a thief who befriends our Count and becomes his right hand in his tale of revenge.  Luis and the other thieves are incredibly fun.

The acting, the sets, the writing (Jay Wolpert), and the action are all top notch.  Running deliberately long the film manages to cover all of it's bases, even the predictable ones and brings a sense of justice, not only to the film, but to the moviegoer as well.

-m-