The Three Musketeers: Milady: Martin Bourboulon’s continuation is not a “regular” sequel, since it was always conceived as a two-part adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic adventure novel. The changes made in the first part are more pronounced here, but they work well; the newly added conspiracy gives the film more suspense and a new villain to complement the usual antagonists. The star-studded cast repeats (so to say, since both films were shot simultaneously) their solid work: this time around, there is some shift in focus, with the excellent Eva Green getting most of the new time and proving she was a great choice to play the role of this classic villainess, beautiful and deadly; Pio Marmaï and Romain Duris, as Porthos and Amamis, also get a bit more time to play, but their characters have always been supporting characters in this story, albeit excellent ones. François Civil is again a fine D’Artagnan, while Vincent Cassel plays well the tragic Athos.

Aesthetically, this is beautiful: the work of production designer Stéphane Taillasson and particularly costume designer Thierry Delettre is rich and filled with personality. The camerawork of cinematographer Nicolas Bolduc is fluid and dynamic, making great use of all the modern tools for the great action sequences but also lighting exquisitely the interiors. Editor Stan Collet makes the gritty action sequences appropriately disorienting.

Read also: The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan