The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

Directed by Randall Wallace. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, John Malkovich, Jeremy Irons, Gabriel Byrne, Gérard Depardieu, Judith Godrèche, Anne Parillaud, Peter Sarsgaard, Edward Atterton. [PG-13]

Patchy adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ “The Vicomte de Bragelonne” finds the musketeers as having gone their separate ways (Athos has retired, D’Artagnan guards the king, Aramis has become a priest, etc.), but three of them find common ground in a plot to overthrow the heartless, tyrannical king (DiCaprio): replace him with his twin brother (also DiCaprio), who has been imprisoned in the Fort Royal for many years, his face locked behind an iron mask at all times. By musketeer standards, awfully heavy going—even lusty Porthos (Depardieu) has become a drunk depressive who tries to take his own life at one point—and writer/director Wallace’s unfocused storytelling and anachronistic dialogue do no favors for novices and experts alike. Since the film can’t withstand any scrutiny whatsoever (aside from needing a shave, DiCaprio #2 emerges from the iron mask ready for a closeup in a Noxzema commercial), it would have benefited from more swashbuckling and less political intrigue, but it’s still just routinely engaging enough on balance for a watch. Irons and Byrne fare best in the cast (although no one seems to be attempting an accent apart from the one they normally speak with) while DiCaprio has surprisingly little screen presence as either the spoiled royal or the overearnest innocent; his popularity at the time, however, made the movie a financial success (it opened when Titanic was still number one at the box office). Hugh Laurie appears as a doomed advisor to the king.

53/100