22/20
After escaping from an island prison where he spent 14 years under false accusations of treason, Edmond Dantès returns as the Count of Monte Cristo to seek revenge against the men who betrayed him. With an estimated budget of €42.9 million, The Count of Monte Cristo is the most expensive French film of 2024. When Albert watches Hydee sing and play the guitar, it’s very apparent that he doesn’t even touch the strings half the time. Included in La grande semaine: Episode No. 1.13 (2024). Well, this is a great piece of cinema, the actors perform well, the scenes are well conceived, and the music is top notch. But for someone who has already read the book before, much of the actual story is not only missing, but has been heavily altered. This is frustrating and is the main reason why it’s an 8 and not a 10, but I guess it’s not that easy to cram a 6-book story into a 3-hour movie. Some of the original characters are missing and have been combined into new characters (Angelel). So if you are not a Dumas fan, watch the movie, you will have a lot of fun! The 3 hours feel like 20 minutes, with good romance, great costumes, great action scenes and drama.