‘The Three Musketeers: Milady’ Review

Stars: François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmai, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Vicky Krieps, Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, Lyna Khoudri, Eric Ruf, Marc Barbé | Written by Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière | Directed by Martin Bourboulon

The eagerly awaited second part of French director Martin Bourboulon’s rollicking Three Musketeers adaptation, following on from Part One (D’Artagnan), released earlier this year. Packed with exciting swashbuckling action and terrific performances, it’s a highly entertaining adventure that brings the story to a thoroughly satisfying conclusion.

The Three Musketeers: Milady picks up immediately where Part One’s nail-biting cliffhanger left off, with King’s Musketeer D’Artagnan (Francois Civil) frantically searching for his kidnapped girlfriend, Queen’s maid Constance Bonacieux (Lyna Khoudri). In the process he uncovers a sinister plot to overthrow King Louis XIII (Louis Garrel) and discovers that Constance’s life is in danger because she witnessed the secret identity of the mastermind behind the scheme.

In order to foil the plot and rescue Constance, D’Artagnan goes undercover with the dastardly Huguenots, which brings him into close contact with Cardinal Richelieu’s slinky, sexy spy, Milady de Winter (Eva Green). As a result, he uncovers a secret regarding Milady’s true identity and a connection to her past that will have devastating consequences for one of his fellow Musketeers.

As the title suggests, Eva Green’s Milady is much more of a focus this time round, and she repays that focus tenfold, in what is essentially the role she was born to play. Every second she’s on screen is pure joy, whether it’s duplicitous scheming, attempting to seduce a surprisingly reticent D’Artagnan or getting stuck into a number of thrilling action sequences, such as battling a ferocious attack dog or duelling to the death in a burning barn.

Admittedly, the focus on Milady means that some of the other Musketeers are rather sidelined for Part Two – Romain Duris’ Aramis and Pio Marmai’s Porthos are essentially reduced to comic relief – but it’s hard to complain when what’s on screen is so much fun. To that end, Civil is delightful as D’Artagnan, while Vincent Cassel gets to add extra emotional layers to Athos as we learn more about his past.

As with the previous film, Bourboulon shows a real affinity for a thrilling action scene, filling the frame with movement and staging a number of highly effective sequences. On that note, the stunt work is exceptional throughout, as it’s thrillingly clear that Bourboulon shoots everything in camera, rather than relying on CGI.

If there’s a flaw with The Three Musketeers: Milady, it’s only that the plot occasionally gets a little hard to follow, especially with regard to whatever Cardinal Richelieu is up to. However, that’s a minor niggle, as this is unmissable entertainment from start to finish, delivering thrilling action, humour and powerful emotion. As for Eva Green’s show-stopping central performance, is a Milady spin-off movie / prequel too much to hope for?

**** 4/5

The Three Musketeers: Milady is in cinemas from today, December 15th.