The Count of Monte Cristo

Dumas would be rolling over in his grave, if he saw this. A reinterpretation that completely misses the point of the novel and makes a romanticist epic into a throwaway B action/adventure movie. If it didn't claim to be based on a classic novel, it would be mildly entertaining.

Rapes the corpse of my favorite novel. Very bad adaptation, but entertaining film.

Replaces the novel's themes and complexity with a bunch of silly sword fights.

Excellent swashbuckling entertainment is told with a light and deft touch (unusual for director Reynolds) and played well by its cast; Caviezel suitably rugged and heroic (the 'Passion Of The Cristo' scenes do get an unintended chuckle) and Pearce his match as a smarmy fop. Also gives what amounts to a screen farewell for Harris, who "Michael Caine"s it up as an ageing cell-mate. Spirited adventure only sags a little during the final stages, taking too long to come to a foregone conclusion.

I absolutely loved this movie. Excellent acting and film making. Jim Caviezel was marvelous in the role. A time tested material. Dagmara Dominczyk is beautiful in this. Guy Pearce convincingly plays his envious best friend who becomes a treacherous enemy, but sometimes looks like a baboon. Richard Harris is also excellent as the old prisoner and mentor. Luis Guzman seemed an odd choice but acted well enough.