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Man in the Iron Mask

A Gamer’s View of the Movies

by Donald J. Bingle

The Man in the Iron Mask

Like the Musketeers of old, I have spent the last month on a quest—a quest for honor and truth. It began simply enough, when I attended a screening of The Man in the Iron Mask (hereafter "Iron Mask") with a group of gaming friends while at the SunQuest/MegaCon gaming and comic book convention in Florida. While I enjoyed the lavish beauty of the production and certain of the performances (more about that later), it was apparent that I did not enjoy the movie as much as some of my gaming companions. Where some others had laughed loudly or sobbed vigorously, I was only moved to occasional smiles, interrupted by wistful sighs and a least one derisive snort of disbelief. These were simply not the Musketeers of my memory—those swashbuckling and honorable heroes that I thought I knew. In addition, there were whole pieces of plot not to be believed. But after all, it would not be honorable to criticize both tone and plot based on half-remembered, misty memories of my youth. I determined to refresh my memories (largely formed by prior films and secondary references) and consult the original source material. Perhaps my memories were too rosy—perhaps the plot problems were those of novelist Alexandre Dumas.

Accordingly, I marched into the nearest video store (swaggering just doesn’t work like it used to) and asked the clerk for a copy of The Three Musketeers ("3M"). "I’m sorry. The Man in the Iron Mask isn’t available yet." "No," I insisted, "the old version of The Three Musketeers." "Oh, you mean the Charlie Sheen movie ("Musketeers Lite") from 1993." "No, although, I’ll also rent that. The old version I saw at the theatre years ago." She consulted her books. "There’s a version with Don Am. . .something." "Don Ameche. . .he was in Trading Places. I’m not that old. The version with Michael York, Oliver Reed, and Richard Chamberlain." "Who?" "There was a sequel called The Four Musketeers ("4M"). "Oh, from 1974 and 1975. That’s not in print anymore." Numerous calls and video store visits later, I was able to watch 3M and 4M (okay on video disc, with Japanese subtitles—it was the best I could do), a 1989 sequel with the same cast, Return of the Musketeers ("Return"; based on Dumas’ second Musketeer work, "Twenty Years After"), as well as Musketeers Lite. Next, I read Dumas’ original work (okay, an English translation—I didn’t have time to learn French just for this review). Then, I saw Iron Mask again, and, while I enjoyed it more the second time, I was still saddened by its view of honor and how that tone differs from Dumas’ "The Three Musketeers" and the very skillful rendering of that tone (a bit light-hearted, but not far from the mark) in 3M and 4M.

I think that gamers know more than a little about honor. While it may differ from game setting to game setting and even somewhat from one character type to another, it is integral to many campaigns and tournaments. It can be quiet, earnest, and polite, as in Oriental Adventures. It can be flamboyant, even a tad superficial, as in the swashbuckling affairs of such heroes as the Musketeers. It can found in adventurous duty, as in the quests of a paladin or Knight of Solamnia, or in the toilsome ritual of a parent going off to a job they hate day after day to support their family. There can even be honor among thieves or between adversaries. And, while I am the first to admit that the honor of Dumas’ fictional heroes in "The Three Musketeers" is somewhat tarnished (particularly by the ambition and intrigue of Aramis) in "The Man in the Iron Mask", the movie Iron Mask breaks covenant with movie-goers by having the Musketeers do dishonorable things. By this, I do not mean so much the major plot actions of Athos, Aramis, and Porthos in conspiring to replace the king with his twin brother—that has the noblest of motives—nor D’Artagnan’s efforts to thwart them—that is merely in service to his oath and his King. Instead, I refer to the lack of concern by the Musketeers toward their fellow Musketeers and toward innocent life. Though it may make for a good action and plot sequence for Athos to arrive, full of rage at the King for what has happened to his son, Raoul, and attack several fellow Musketeers in a frenzy, it is dishonorable for him to leave by pulling his sword from the chest of a compatriot and striding away without a thought for the life or health of the wounded Musketeer. Honorable men do not attack and kill their compatriots—especially when they are fellow soldiers or law enforcement officers. (This has bothered me in a number of movies, such as Mission Impossible and Face Off, to name just a few.) Aramis, Athos, and Porthos also abandon their young usurper in one scene, rather than fighting to the death. The final charge of the Musketeers against the King and their fellow Musketeers is splendid in its look, but it is simply not convincing that, in order to die in battle, these supposedly honorable men are going to attack and kill men of their own squadron when there is no real hope in any of them that anything will be accomplished by the charge. (D’Artagnan at least mutters "Spare their lives, if you can.", but it’s not enough.) The final revelation concerning D’Artagnan—and revelation it is, since it is a complete departure from the books—may make D’Artagnan a noble and tragic figure, but it reveals a dishonorable past (and an unbelievable time line, by the way). This is perhaps, the saddest cut of all.

Iron Mask includes great visuals, a stirring soundtrack, and fine performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and, especially, Gabriel Byrne, as D’Artagnan, who deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor and much better than the fifth billing he received. Aside from my concerns about the honor of the characters as portrayed in the movie, the film is flawed by inconsistent accents (ranging from the authentic, but at times barely comprehensible, French accent of Gerard Depardieu as Porthos to the generic aristocratic accent of Jeremy Irons as Aramis to the bland American delivery of John Malkovich as Athos), a flaw that it highlighted by the occasional uses of French and Italian in the script. The film also struggles to overcome the generally lackluster performance of John Malkovich (who sleepwalks through his performance almost as much as Charlie Sheen did in Musketeers Lite) and some non-credible scenes (none of which come from the Dumas novels). For instance, Aramis spirits a prisoner out of the Bastille in a sequence that I am convinced many gamers have tried or would try, but which does not come off as very believable as portrayed. Athos also tries at one point to convince the King’s men to let him and his companions go by declaring the real King to be the imposter and threatening the supposed imposter’s life. Huh?!?!? Why would the guards care if he offed the imposter? And, while I did not believe for a moment when the man in the iron mask took off his mask that the movie people would allow Leonardo’s face to be covered with the vermin and sores that it would have after wearing a mask for 6 years (he, instead, looked pretty much like Michael Landon did in I Was a Teenage Werewolf), I was shocked to see that his hands, while dirty, had perfectly manicured fingernails. Yeah, I know it’s a bit nit-picky, but with a budget in the tens of millions, you think they could have sprung for some broken Lee’s Press-On Nails. Lastly, the reference at the beginning of the movie to storming the Bastille may mislead those unfamiliar with French history (surely not any of my readers!) to believe the time frame of the movie is at the time of the French revolution rather than more than 100 years earlier.

Sure, you should still go see Iron Mask. Better yet, go on a quest and see what honor and the original Dumas books were all about by finding and watching 3M and 4M (Return is interesting to watch so as to continue the sequence, but a disappointment overall). If you must, you can also watch Musketeers Lite, either as a comparison to the better movies or just to watch young studs at swordplay. (Think of it as a Cliff Notes or Classic Comic Books version of the original Dumas book, which 3M tells us, is the most often read book in the world, other than the Bible.) If you crave yet more swashbuckling, try the classic Errol Flynn movies, Captain Blood, Robin Hood, and The Sea Hawk, with stirring soundtracks by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.