Poll Position: The Man in the Iron Mask

I’ll be honest, I really did not think “The Man in the Iron Mask” was going to win the poll this week, but y’all proved me wrong. I rather not know much about the movie before I see it, kind of ruins it for me. Besides knowing this had a very young Leonardo DiCaprio and roughly about the 3 musketeers, I couldn’t wait. My full details after the jump.

This movie takes place in France, during the reign of King Louis XIV (DiCaprio). As his kingdom starves and is only fed rotten fruit, the peasants start riots all through Paris. The king rather spend the countries money on wars and himself than feeding the poor. Only one man stands by his side, D’Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne), as he is sworn under an oath to always abide his king. After the king selfishly sacrifices Athos’ son, Raoul, so he could get with Raoul’s girlfriend, change of kings has been called for by the three musketeers; Athos, Pathos and Aramis. The plan is to retrieve the man behind the iron mask, who has been imprisoned for 6 years, as he is the lost twin of King Louis.

Trick question: Which is the real King?

The story was obviously amazing; mainly due to it being a novel first. But it adapted well to being a movie, and didn’t seem to drag on as some "stories to movies" do. But besides that point, the story can be enjoyed by anyone one. It isn’t too complex and I am sure many are quite familiar to the basic premise. Though it does get a tad predictable at times, it doesn’t make the movie that boring.

But what really shines in this movie is the cast and acting. I absolutely loved D’Artagnan, Byrne sold his role perfectly. I saw this character come to life in front of me, and he supported not only the king but the three musketeers perfectly. But he wasn’t even the biggest surprise for me. DiCaprio was absolutely amazing as both King Louis and Philippe (twin brother). He pulled off both roles well and what really stood out was when he had to play a nervous, but arrogant Philippe when he takes the throne. I have to say, it takes a lot of skill to act two characters that are essentially opposite personas. King Louis is an arrogant misogynist and Philippe is a shy trusting man. But to top it all off, he has to play a part where the two are one, just phenomenal.

On a lesser note, I really digged the soundtrack, most of the time it fit the scene really well and gave it that extra oomph! But what really did it for this movie is the fun sword fights that are in this movie, they were well choreographed and great to watch. Nothing too cheesy, just practical sword fighting.

But with all that good I say about this movie, there was something that made this movie feels just … okay. I really can’t think of anything that I really hated about this movie, it just wasn’t my style of movie. This is why it is sad to know that this movie will just be a blur in my memory, and easily forgettable. Though I bet you that most movie goers would love this movie, especially if you have a thing for movies about knight ship. To summarize, I like watching the movie but I would never watch it again and probably never care for it again.

On a sidenote, Hugh Laurie was in this movie. And those 2 scenes with him in it, awesome.

GOD DAMN HUGH LAURIE!