The Count of Monte Cristo | Review

Reynoulds adaptation fails to make an impression.

Following up from his brush with the career ending and the notable-to-be-avoided-flick Waterworld, comes Kevin Reynolds version of Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo. Originally the film was scheduled as a fall 2001 release, the studio execs decision to postpone the release of the film until the slow month of January shows that this project was quite the gamble. But will the prior Reynold track record and the fact that this genre of film doesn’t bring in the audiences like it once used to hinder the box-office results? The first right step in this film was to not cast Kevin Costner, but does this Monte Cristo tale hold up in our contemporary times? Well, after a full two hours, I say that Reynolds pulls off an admirable popcorn experience. Being more familiar with the cigar rather than the novel, I had no idea what to expect, until my unfortunate glimpse at the lousy previews for the film-which give away too much of the story.

The plot follows along in the traditional bad guy vs. good guy narrative text. The key word for this film is…revenge, along with words back-stabbing and betrayal. With our protagonist Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line) as Edmund Dantes playing the framed man with no hope and in the latter half, playing the man with the master plan and the major chip on his shoulder. The subject of all his anger is the jealous Fernand Mondego played by Guy Pearce (Memento), who shafts his childhood friend in order to get into the pants of his refused love. A love triangle develops and envy sends the good guy ship captain to a hellhole of a stoned-walled cubical and into the submission of a prison guard’s whipping boy. Caviezel’s and Pearce’s performances are reasonably satisfying enough to keep the interest level up, but Richard Harris (Gladiator) and Luiz Guzmán (Boogie Nights) characters are unconvincing. Harris plays this let-me-tell-you-everything before-I-die-my-predictable-death mentor who has enough strength to build tunnels and take Barry Bonds slugs to the stomach, but has a little trouble with a miniature cave-in. His protégé the future Count of Monte Cristo goes from the weakest link to someone ready for the Olympics. Guzmán is hilarious, but he is hardly believable giving an artificial appearance to the character – I don’t mind the goofball moments, in fact comic relief can lift any film during the more dreadful moments, but in this case, the serious tone of the film could have down without the guy that wants to make it into triple x films.

The film is efficient for not making that mistake of going overboard with the epic battles of morality, the good versus evil accounts and avoids making the all-to-common mistake of putting too much attention on the themed pirates and cobblestone streets of that era. The film is easy to digest and accessorized with prancing horses, treasure chests of gold and sharp swords. There is a smooth pace to the film, with plenty of transitions in location and themes to get the viewer interested. But does a fast-food version do justice to a Dumas’ classic? I think that it is easy for directors to fall victim to the era trap, getting lost in the decorative aspects and losing sight of the main objective of any adventure film, which is too make us feel as if we are in some other world that we would want to visit. This film makes a genuine effort at creating the napolean-esque world, but where the effort lacks is in the believability department. Obviously, the training camp for the illiterate prison adventure is a little pushed, but the fact that the protagonist’s closest enemies do not recognize him in a timeless transformation of 10+ years makes almost no sense at all. I could have also done without the love-child love-triangle finale, the sword swinging scene in the open field seems tacked onto the film, lacking the substance of a grand finale and seeming more like a film production re-shoot. I would have preferred a more introspective look into the character, a better look and feel for his hate and craving for revenge, rather than a tone-downed polite anger. The film is entertaining enough to not make you look at your watch every fifteen minutes- but it won’t hold you down into your seat when you have one of those mega soft drinks sitting in your stomach. Reynolds’s The Count of Monte Cristo will be a crowd-pleaser, but it lacks in fibre, minerals and vitamins B1 to B12.

Rating 1.5 stars