150 Word Review: 'The Count of Monte Cristo' (2024)
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya
It's been a while since there was a remake of this classic revenge story by Alexander Dumas, who I like to think of as Victor Hugo Only Fun. How is it possible Hollywood forgot this royalty-free IP?
Like Peppridge Farms, the French remember: The Count of Monte Cristo returns to its mother country in directors Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière's sumptuous adaptation. There's kissing and sword fighting and costumes. As the title count, Pierre Niney is lean and hawk-like, once betrayed, now a force of vengeance. He's also a master of disguise, one of my favorite heroic skills. Yes, it's important to know how to punch but also? A hero should know how to apply a fake mustache.
The movie preserves its 19th-century virtues: honor, valor, justice. This is an epic in scale and beauty. It's almost three hours long but the story sails full-tilt the whole time.
France made many great movies in 2024, so was definitely underexposed. This was a great movie, and deserves the same weekend as 'The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady'.