(may contain spoilers)
Douban rating: 6.6
Director: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte
Starring: Pierre Niney, Bastien Bouillon, Anaïs Demoustier, Anamaria Vartolomei
Douban Comments: “Was better than expected. After all, the original story is solid – one of the earliest popular novels. As long as they don’t make major changes and stay true to the source, with enough budget, it’s hard to mess it up completely. It might not be amazing, but it won’t be unwatchable either.
Casting good-looking actors, spending more on costumes and sets, and using money to boost the quality of locations and cinematography – the wide shots of the manor and mountains are truly stunning.
At three hours, it did feel a bit long, but splitting it into two parts would’ve been tricky unless they extended it to four hours.”
“I read The Count of Monte Cristo many times back in elementary school, and it was also the topic of my undergraduate thesis. Even though I haven’t revisited the original novel since then, I could still tell while watching the film that it only captured about 10% of the book’s brilliance.
A lot of plotlines were either cut or heavily simplified – the whole arc with the prosecutor involved in the revenge was completely rewritten. Some iconic scenes felt underwhelming. For example, I was really looking forward to the treasure discovery being dazzling, but it was glossed over, probably due to budget limitations. And this is already a major commercial production backed by the whole of France, which just goes to show how grand the original work truly is.
As I watched, I kept thinking of scenes from the book – the Count and Albert’s journey through Italy, the pirate adventure on the Mediterranean, the telegraph operator who loved gardening, and all the different poisons… The revenge in the movie came across as too straightforward and rushed, and they even changed the ending. Maybe the idea of an older man and a young woman walking off into the sunset didn’t align with modern values?
That said, the film itself is still a well-crafted commercial blockbuster. Given the time constraints, adapting the story was inevitable, and the overall quality is solid – especially for viewers unfamiliar with the original novel.”
“Three and a half stars. The two screenwriters of The Three Musketeers return this time as directors, bringing with them the same lavish style in costumes, set design, and music. Yet despite its three-hour runtime, this version feels less brisk and faithful to the original than the 2002 adaptation.
The storyline heavily compresses Edmond’s journey before becoming the Count of Monte Cristo, especially his time in prison, which is glossed over so quickly that the priest loses all his character depth and simply becomes a plot device. The treasure is found so easily, I almost questioned how it even happened in the book.
In an attempt to distill the story into pure vengeance, the filmmakers entirely cut the Morrel family, robbing Edmond of the chance to repay their kindness – even though a setup for Maximilien Morrel was strangely retained in the first half. In the novel, Edmond’s thirst for revenge gradually cools, and the Morcerf family – arguably the most dramatic part of the story – isn’t even saved for the final confrontation. The narrative lacks a true climax.
Every adaptation has to wrestle with the challenge of preserving the thrill of revenge near the end while also deepening its moral reflection. This version oddly chooses a Wuthering Heights-style resolution… but after such major changes, it ends up being neither thought-provoking nor satisfying.
Interestingly, there’s also a TV series version coming out this year, and both posters seem to imitate Friedrich’s Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.”
