The Scarlet Empress sent in this review of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK from waaaay north. She liked it, and here is that report...
Well yesterday I was lucky enough to get into a "press preview" screening to Man in the Iron Mask in Toronto Canada where I live. I was in there with approximately 200 people quite a few of whom seemed to be "contest winners" as they were really impolite(I could tell they weren't press as they didn't get the movie kit as well"). They talked loudly near the start and during a climatic scenes. The press which were seated close to the front were quiet.
First of all let me start off by saying that the sets were great as well as the costumes. The acting done by Irons, Malkovich, Depardieu and Bryne were great. DiCaprio wasn't wonderful but quite good in the dual roles of the king and Philippe. Queen Anne is played by Anne Parillaud who of course is best remembered as the lead in the movie "La Femme Nikita".
The Plot
The dead king decides to hide his younger twin son in order prevent a "war between sons". The son who becomes king is a tyrant and mistreats his people. The three musketeers then decide to right things after finding out that the king has a twin brother. There are at least two minor plotlines one involving the queen and the musketeers' teacher and another involving one of the musketeer's son bein killed by the king in order to get his fiance.
The Skinny
The film looked nice and sounded nice. What it needed was a better plot. The non-critics in the audience seemed shocked by the some of the plot turns though if you have seen enough films (or any) you could see the end coming a mile away.
I would give it about 7.
