“With a mixture of classic characters as well as classic themes, “The Man In The Iron Mask” is an example of superb movie making. Director Randall Wallace diligently ties in an action flick with a deeper rooted story line to excite and captivate most any viewer. With a handful of clever cast characters, his mission is accomplished. While Leonardo DiCaprio offers the greatest performance of his career as King Louis XIV, it is the four musketeers that make the movie, each with their own personalities.
The year is 1600 and the entire country of France is in poverty. The cruel and heartless King Louis, who could end all of this in a heartbeat, just sits back and watches his country go to ruin. It is now up to the musketeers, Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Arthos (John Malkovich), Porthos (Gerard Depardieu), and D’Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) to save France from destruction and glorify the nation as it had been in earlier days with the help of a mysterious young prisoner—the man in the iron mask.
Each musketeer has his own reasons for revolution. Aramis is now a priest, Athos is a grieving father with a vengeance for the king, Porthos is a “has-been” who misses his glory days and D’Artagnan, the fourth musketeer, loyally serves the king and contains a secret that tears him apart.
The action sequences in the movie keep the viewer from boredom, but Wallace (who also wrote the screenplay for “Braveheart”) knows that action is not the only ingredient for a good movie. By allowing us to understand these people, we feel for every one of them. DiCaprio is amazing as the cunning and senile King Louis, and seconds later as the meek and big-hearted Phillippe. He really seems like two different people. The spill-your-heart-out scenes are far more interesting than the sword fights. Not many movies can pull that off. “The Man In The Iron Mask” does. That’s what makes it a masterpiece.”
