Get the latest gossip
‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ Review: A Splendid Update of the French Classic Feels at Once Timeless and Thrillingly New
'The Count of Monte Cristo' doesn’t condense easily, but a pair of French directors have cracked it brilliantly, emphasizing the theme of revenge.
Last year, in bold defiance of post-pandemic doomsayers, French distributor Pathé doubled down on its commitment to the big-screen experience with its extravagant, no-expense-spared adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Three Musketeers” — a starry two-part tentpole that featured dynamic, single-take swashbuckling sequences and a delectably wicked turn from Eva Green. Whereas “Megalopolis” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” swallowed up much of the oxygen at Cannes, “Count” premiered with far less fanfare, but felt like a genuine triumph: a stunning, emotionally satisfying adventure tale, built on rock-solid source material, executed with all the panache and spectacle of golden-era Hollywood epics, briskly paced and rousingly acted by an all-around stellar ensemble. For the next 14 years — about one hour of screen time — the handsome ex-mariner wastes away in the bowels of the Château d’If (a clever trick shot reveals prisoner Number 34’s emaciated body, pans up the dank cell walls and settles on the scruffy face of its star, best known to Americans as the clean-cut young designer in “Yves Saint Laurent”).
Or read this on Variety