Revenge of the Musketeers

Set in 17th century France, director Bertrand Tavernier's originally titled La Fille de d'Artagnan follows the adventures of young Eloise (Sophie Marceau), who, while cloistered in a convent, inadvertently uncovers a plot to overthrow the King of France. The fetching Eloise then sets out for Paris to enlist the aid of her famous father--original Musketeer D'Artagnan (Philippe Noiret)--and the rest of the now retired musketeers, to save King and kingdom. Shot in 1994, the video release is likely timed to capitalize on Ms. Marceau's growing U.S. popularity after appearances in Braveheart and A Midsummer's Night's Dream, but the most engaging performance in this lightly entertaining comic (mis)adventure is that of Noiret as D'Artagnan, who, along with his now arthritic Musketeer cronies, charmingly outmaneuvers the no-goodsters to save the crown (once again). Finding the right audience for this one will be difficult--it's too talky for the action-adventure crowd (not to mention subtitled), too light for foreign film buffs, and about 30 minutes too long in general, but it's wit, spirited performances, and an irrepressible joie-d'aventure make it an above average swashbuckler. Recommended. (S. C. Sickles)