THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

Directed by Kevin Reynolds

Starring Guy Pearce and Jim Caviezel

Playing at CineMark 12 in Hadley

It’s hard to imagine there was a pressing need to do another cinematic version of The Count of Monte Cristo, especially one that doesn’t attempt any kind of radical reinvention of the material. Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of revenge and innocence lost has been given the theatrical treatment at least four times, has been the subject of countless TV and stage productions, and now gets lavish new screen treatment in a serviceable, well-mounted movie fit for a Saturday matinee.

The director, Kevin Reynolds, is a vivid action director, but his career has washed up on the shoals of red flag moviemaking ever since directing those twin Kevin Costner thudders Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld. But Reynolds has an ability to stage a deft swordfight and his Dumas-inspired swashbuckler isn’t an embarrassment, unlike last fall’s Peter Hyams-directed The Musketeer.

Edmond Dantes (Jim Caviezel) is an earnest youth with a perfect life: the son of a poor merchant, he’s been promoted from second mate to captain, has the love of the beautiful Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyck) and is friends with Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), the son of a count. On a side trip to the Italian isle of Elba, Edmond meets the exiled Napoleon, who asks the young man to deliver a personal letter. Back in Marseilles, Edmond is accused of treason by a jealous Mondego, arrested, and sent by the prosecutor Villefort (James Frain) to the prison island of Chateau D’If. His family is told he has been executed.

For years, Edmond is left to rot in jail, plotting revenge and suffering annual floggings at the hands of the warden (Michael Wincott). Then one day the Abbe Faria (Richard Harris, basically redoing his wizardly role from Harry Potter only without magic) literally crawls out from the floor. The old priest was attempting an escape but burrowed in the wrong direction, and now offers Edmond a deal: he will teach the young how to be a gentleman, a scholar and a fighter if Edmond helps the old man to escape. In addition, Faria will give Edmond a map to a legendary treasure. Edmond does escape, joins forces with the pirate Jacopo (Luis Guzman, providing the comic relief), whose life Edmond saves, and finds the treasure. The final act has Edmond reinventing himself as the dashing Count of Monte Cristo, using his new identity to seek his revenge. And death is too good for those who did him wrong.

An entertainingly old-fashioned adventure, The Count of Monte Cristo lives by its acting and stunt work. Caviezel, with his hauntingly piercing blue eyes, is a good fit for Dantes. He doesn’t sleepwalk as he did in Angel Eyes, instead taking Edmond from callow young man to cynical avenger with nary a missed beat. Pearce is more mincing than intimidating as Mondego, but Pearce has gleeful fun with the role (it’s a complete 180 from his subdued turn in Memento). Guzman steals the show whenever he gets to crack a joke. The role of Mercedes is lackluster, and directors almost always cast beautiful but vapid girls in these kinds of roles, even if the girls can barely carry a slasher film. Dominczyck certainly seems to be on par with the course (she’s beautiful, she’s unknown…), but she’s actually quite good as Mercedes, even if she can’t give the role the kind of import necessary to give the character a full body. Wincott can now officially join the typecasting hall of fame.

It was smart to make Mondego Edmond’s childhood friend, giving the character a shade of complexity. What wasn’t smart was to allow some blissfully camp moments to seep through. Like when Mercedes discovers Edmond’s ruse, learns about his past and still asks with sincerity, “Did you suffer?” Like when the elderly Faria can teach sword fighting to Dantes, even though both are on starvation diets. Why do Edmond and Faria spend years tunneling through when they could just try to bust down the rotting cell doors? Why does Jacopo have a Bronx accent? It’s moments like these when you realize Monte Cristo isn’t as smart as it could be. But the swordfights are exciting, the movie is nice to look at and as rousing adventures go, there could be worse.