neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Count Of Monte Cristo
	Kevin Reynolds Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, Richard Harris, Dagmara Dominczyk, Luiz Guzman 2002		What can you say about this lavish adaptation of the famous mid-1880s Alexandre Dumas novel that isn't about musketeers? That it's the latest of quite a few versions of "The Count of Monte Cristo." That it's seldom less than high-style, popcorn-gobbling entertainment with sword fights, pirates and many swashes buckled. And that it does a bang-up job with a classic tale and all of its intricacies. Jim Caviezel ("Angel Eyes," "Frequency") is able sailor Edmond Dantes, a man of modest origins and great honor. About to marry the gorgeous Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk), Dantes is betrayed by his longtime friend Fernand (Guy Pearce of "Memento"), who covets Mercedes. So Edmond is wrongly accused of treason and sent off to prison, where an elderly prisoner (ever-lordly Richard Harris) helps him improve his fencing technique, and our hero waits for a chance to reclaim his life. It's a twisty, turny, exciting quest. With a slightly anachronistic Luiz Guzman as Edmond's knife-tossing sidekick.