I write this is 2023 and I can assure the reader that this was not a good year for cinema. Actually, it's been years that cinema has been pretty much dead. Politics, general lack of respect with source material, studios' unwillingness to invest in mid-range films, poor production values, poor acting, poor scripting, you name it, are all part of the problem.
The Three Musketeers story has been adapted to cinema many times, but this is the first time it seems to take itself seriously. This was the first time I saw a cinema musketeer hold actual muskets. The story is solid, the acting is top-notch, the bad guys are believeable. Lady Winter is so good, in fact, that before long you start rooting for her!
The costumes look authentic enough, the fighting scenes are not 100% believable, but they are pretty decent, there's a lot of character building around Athos, the relationship between D'Artagnan and Constance, even King Louis XIII has more depth than most characters from Marvel.
These musketeers dress like musketeers, and they display signs of true friendship and comradery, pulling each other's legs, knowing each other's quirks, having adult dialogues and things like that.
The story does not dwell in the stereotypical bad vs good kind of thing and doesn't try to push a message to the viewer. It's all grey areas, each character has an agenda and reasons to do what they do.
And on top of all that: it's all in French. How it's supposed to be.
Even though it's not the book, it's not a strict interpretation of it, these two films are very good. A breath of fresh air and true filmmanship.
If you like the 3 musketeers, or just any good old adventure film, don't miss this one!