Review: The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)

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The Man in the Iron Mask

Rating

Director

Randall Wallace

Screenplay

Randal Wallas (Novels: Alexandre Dumas)

Length

2h 12m

Starring

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gerard Depardieu, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Parillaud, Judith Godreche, Edward Atterton, Peter Sarsgaard, Hugh Laurie, David Lowe

MPAA Rating

PG-13

Basic Plot

A film based on Alexandre Dumas’ famous novel about a tyrannical king and his quest to keep his identical twin under wraps.

Review

Overall Man in the Iron Mask is a disappointing film after Leonardo captured the hearts of millions in Titanic.

DiCaprio plays dual roles. One is a egotistical king that is hated by his people and is on the verge of a revolution. The other is his identical twin, Philippe, that had been imprisoned behind an iron mask for six years.

D’Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) is King Louis’ head of the musketeers. While acceptable at points, Byrne leaves a lot to be desired as the honor-conflicted fourth musketeer.

Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Athos (John Malkovich) and Porthos (Gérard Depardieu) are the three musketeers. Each are retired and have moved on to separate professions and talents. Aramis has become a priest. Athos has sat aside helping his son to achieve what he had. Porthos is a womanizer and can’t seem to get enough sex. Aramis is clear-headed, Athos is a worrier and hot-head, and Porthos is easily depressed.

The best scenes occur between the talented threesome, but their acting is subpar. Each of them have been far better in other previous roles. They are often left with the duty of making the audience laugh instead of being true, stout-hearted savers-of-the-day.

Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud) seems lost and is reduced to crying fits throughout the film. Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard) and Christine (Judith Godrèche) are the star-crossed lovers in this play. King Louis wants Christine to himself and is willing to send Raoul into battle to get her.

This angers Athos greatly since he’s young Raoul’s father.

The costume design and art direction try to save the film, but the occasional bad acting bring it down further. DiCaprio is appalling as King Louis and finds a couple of winning moments as Philippe, but not enough to win him any hearts or honors.

The film, written and directed by Randall Wallace, writer behind the pathetic Braveheart adaptation, does nothing exciting for the picture and can’t command more than a few decent performances. A film that could be enjoyed as much on the big screen as on the TV, should be saved for your renting pleasures.