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On GuardRating:
Release Date: 09 March, 2004 Retail Price: $24.98 OUR Price: $22.48 You SAVE: $2.50! Cast: |
On Guard Reviews
Overrated but entertaining
I went into this expecting it to be one of the greatest swashbucklers of all time -- as some reviews had led me to believe. Well, it isn't. But that doesn't mean that it's not well worth a viewing.
My biggest complaint is that I thought the film would have wall-to-wall swordplay. It doesn't. After the first 30 minutes or so, long stretches go by where there isn't much exciting action at all. When our hero disguises himself as a hunchback in order to infiltrate the villain's lair, the story begins to feel stale and predictable. And the finale is a huge disappointment, mainly because the lead villain isn't much of a fencer. Shouldn't the film's best swordfight have been saved for the end?
That said, the movie looks terrific and has a fine lead performance by Daniel Auteuil, who excels in both the comical and dramatic aspects of his role. His swordplay is also surprisingly convincing. While the action choreography is effective, it's not as spectacular as I had hoped. And, once again, I wish there had been more of it. Marie Gillain is quite fetching as the sprightly Aurore, although American viewers may feel uneasy about the romantic relationship that develops between her and her adoptive father.
Swashbuckling!
Alexandre Dumas made a reputation for himself writing stories chiefly about the uncommon man who had to rise to the occasion in extraordinary circumstances. Arguably, THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO stand as some of the best literature of the ages, and the film adaptations have created some of the most incredibly swordplay put to the silver screen.
The little heard of and rarely seen ON GUARD ("Le Bossu," 1997, from the French novel by Paul Feval of the same name), by far, features some of the most exciting swordplay with a story that compares to Dumas' best work in many ways.
Daniel Auteuil stars as Lagardere, a budding swordsman who can't back down from a fight. One evening, upon trying to best the Duke of Nevers, he inadvertantly falls into the duke's good graces and joins him -- as a sidekick -- on a journey to rescue the man's infant daughter, Aurore. However, as the duke is soon murdered by his villainous cousin Count Gonzague (played with ample creepiness by Fabrice Luchini), Lagardere escapes with the infant and, along with the help of a traveling circus, raises her as his own child for sixteen years ... until Aurore takes up the sword and performs a move only her real father could've known, alerting the now-in-power Gonzague to the fact the the daughter has survived. Now, Legardere is faced with the ultimate challenge of devising a masterful plot to put the woman back on the throne and into her position of prominence!
Much of the film is pure plotting and humor, some of which can only be the product of the French ("Ever try sodomy, my friend?"), and I'm quite certain several of the jokes might be lost on an American audience. Still, Auteuil as Lagardere is the film's masterful stroke; he proves himself capable of a Musketeer-like defender, a loving father, and a pining lost soulmate to the lovely Aurore, all the while maintaining his sense of duty coupled with a great sense of humor.
The film is presented widescreen, filmed on beautiful locations, and the sound is very crisp and vibrant. ON GUARD is a wonderful adaptation that deserves to be discovered by a much larger audience.
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