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THE RETURN OF THE MUSKETEERS (1989)
STARS: Michael York, Oliver Reed, Frank Finlay, Richard Chamberlain, Kim Cattrall, C. Thomas Howell, Geraldine Chaplin, Roy Kinnear, Christopher Lee, Philippe Noiret, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Billy Connolly, Eusebio Lazaro, Bill Paterson.
DIRECTOR: Richard Lester. DURATION: 103 mins.
SYNOPSIS: The quartet swash their buckles once more in this tongue-in-cheek adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel Twenty Years After. D'Artagnan reforms his ageing Musketeer pals in a bid to save the Queen of France from the evil machinations of Cardinal Mazarin and Milady de Winter's daughter Justine, who proves she's a chip off the old block.
RC PLAYS: Aramis.
Back in the saddle for a third time, and back with Lester for a fourth, Chamberlain should have been in seventh heaven - but his role in the project is frankly a disappointment. In fact, his part in the proceedings is almost a case of blink and you miss him and the actor seems to have taken part only as a favour to the director, or for old times sake - a feeling the whole film has.
Most of the cast by this time were coming to the end (or were totally finished) of their time as leading actors, so in a sense it was a last-ditch attempt to stand in the spotlight. The idea to add a little spark by injecting youth into the mix didn't work either - unfortunately both C. Thomas Howell and Kim Cattrall have about as much charisma in their pivotal roles as a soggy lettuce.
The Return of the Musketeers is a sad case of what might have been if everyone, including Richard Lester, still had the same gusto they showed back in the mid-Seventies. Ultimately, the movie will always be remembered for the tragic death of much-loved actor Roy Kinnear, who died from injuries sustained following an on-set horse riding accident.
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