THE THREE MUSKETEERS: MILADY
(12A) 114mins
★★★★☆
OUR favourite swash-buckling swordsmen are back in a riveting sequel just months after acclaimed first film D’Artagnan.
This second stab starts with young musketeer D’Artagnan attempting to escape imprisonment and find love interest Constance Bonacieux, who has been kidnapped.
He’s forced to team up with the seductive and mysterious Milady de Winter, marvellously brought to life by Eva Green.
The Casino Royale star doesn’t fail to impress in what appears to be a role tailor-made for her.
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Whether it’s dispatching vicious attack dogs, facing off with swordsmen or charming those needed to advance her cause, she proves herself a true force to be reckoned with.
Elsewhere in France, King Louis XIII is closing in on English-backed protestants and seeks to crush their rebellion after surrounding a heavily fortified citadel.
But his attack is under threat from conspirators who aim to spark a civil war.
Director Martin Bourboulon delivers yet again in this fantastic French language flick.
Audiences will be delighted by one-shot action sequences that vividly bring swordplay to life and capture the brutal nature of 17th century warfare.
From the opening scene right to the end, the film keeps up a fast pace, rarely slowing to less than a canter.
Francois Civil continues to prove himself as an excellent D’Artagnan, and musketeers Athos, Aramis and Porthos bring added cheek and charm.
As Athos, Vincent Cassel also has a delicate touch as his character faces inner turmoil when his past comes back to haunt him.
While the musketeers’ rallying cry of “All for one and one for all” has been retired, the boisterous bromance from previous film adaptations lives on.
There are plenty of, “Who is this stable boy?” type insults and laughably bad chat-up lines.
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But, sadly, the trio’s comedic relief is somewhat under-utilised, apart from an amusing side quest to track down the soldier who impregnated Aramis’s sister.
Expect guts, glory and yet another tantalising cliff-hanger — which suggests this won’t be the last we will see of these new musketeers.
THE LOST BOYS
(12A) 83mins
★★★☆☆
A JUVENILE detention centre might seem an unlikely location for a tender and thought-provoking love story, but this French language boy-meets-boy romance is exactly that.
With the perimeter fence used as a metaphor for trapped emotions, first-time director Zeno Graton perfectly captures the conflicted and confused feelings of flighty 17- year-old Joe (beautifully portrayed by Khalil Ben Gharbia).
After years inside the all-male reform unit, he is preparing to leave for the outside world when new inmate William (Julien De Saint Jean) arrives.
A relationship blossoms, awakening new, disruptive desires in Joe.
Frantic, passionate moments, typical of any teenagers exploring their sexuality, are snatched whenever possible in a place where all physical contact is forbidden.
Performances are strong throughout, but the most memorable affection is in the scenes when the two are kept apart.
There is real compassion evident when, separated by bricks, the masculine lovers listen to the radio together or press their bodies – adjacent but split by cell partitions – together but on either side of a divide.
WHAT HAPPENS LATER
(15) 104mins
★★☆☆☆
IT’S a bold move making a film about two things most people hate – airport delays and running into their exes.
But that’s the focus of Meg Ryan and David Duchovny’s Christmassy romantic comedy.
The film, which is also directed by Ryan, sees former lovers Willa and Bill bumping into each other at a tiny airport during “the snowstorm of the century”.
More than two decades have passed since their break-up and, thanks to continuous flight delays, they have plenty of time for a relationship post mortem.
As the pair run out of small talk they delve into the reasons behind their split.
We learn that Willa was a wild hippie who convinced steady and stable Bill to have an open relationship, which he pretended to be OK with.
Later, she became pregnant and, when they lost the child, their romance crumbled.
Prepare yourself for several tear-jerking moments.
But also lots of bizarre scenes, including the exes smoking a joint in the airport, stealing booze from a bar and drunkenly joy-riding a luggage truck.
There a few touching scenes and chuckles but, much like any delayed flight, What Happens Later is a bit of a drag.
