‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ or — A Hidden Treasure ?

You know what — Kevin Reynolds’ version of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ (2002) isn’t that bad. It tells the story clearly, with a decent amount of energy and a bottom line of wanting to entertain, all of which it effortlessly pulls off. Its unfussy adventure and escapades with a strong plot of revenge that the director just really needs to not get in the way of too much. It packs the tale into only two hours so never gets bogged down and, instead, clips along at a fair old pace bolstered by some enjoyable performances, particularly by the supporting cast.

If you know the story then you know the story and if you don’t then I won’t spoil it for you other than saying a man is wrongfully imprisoned and is determined to escape although not only must he figure out how to escape but who set him up and why in the first place. So it’s an espionage romp, a prison escape movie and a revenge tale rolled into one and Reynolds handles all these elements effectively. The prison sequence is especially good with Richard Harris delivering a fun performance although I do feel the Richard Chamberlain version played out the revenge aspect better. Guy Pierce gets to chew up the scenery with relish and there’s even a flirtatious chase scene with Henry Cavill that provides some sparkling energy, and considering the words ‘sparkling energy’ and ‘Henry Cavill’ are never normally seen written on the same page, let alone the same sentence, together then that’s really something.

There’s a refreshing lack of CGI meaning the film doesn’t look or feel dated although everything does get a little silly once Jim Caviezel dons the mantle of the Count, especially his big entrance by hot-air balloon which suddenly turns Edmond Dantes from a haggard man out for revenge into Willy Wonka. But even here the movie wants us to laugh with it, not at it.

‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ won’t blow you away and it might not be the best version of this enjoyable story but it is highly entertaining, tightly scripted and executed with professional panache. If you’re bored and want a couple of hours to kill you could do a lot worse than this.