The creators of the Resident Evil series take on a classic and the purists are worried. Do they have reason to? Yes and no.

Let's start with the cast: there is light and dark here. The three musketeers MacFadyen, Stevenson and Evans are great choices and Jovovich obviously enjoys her over the top role as assassin/double agent Lady de Winter. Christoph Waltz only needs a few facial expressions to nail a wonderfully arrogant Richelieu. To cast Orlando Bloom as cocky villain is unexpected and refreshing, but sometimes he takes it a little far. Remains the main character, D'Artagnan, who does not only have a horrible hairdo but is also an unlikable brat, thanks to Lerman.

The script stays surprisingly close to the basic premise of the book, but takes plenty of freedom with the details, of course. Some of those work, others don't. The airship idea, giving a bit if a steampunk feel, is fun and makes for a spectacular showdown, the end of which may be silly but at least unlike anything seen before.
The creators clearly played some Assassin's Creed to get some ideas (Venice, DaVinci's machines) but at least a lot of scenes were filmed on location and do feel real. The fencing fights are fun, well choreographed and the 3D effects actually do add a depth to many scenes, even if not all.
And then there is the adorable opening sequence, later used for map views too, which probably wouldn't exist without the Game of Thrones TV show but is still very well done here.

Overall a film that lacks the charm of the older versions, but is entertaining and offers plenty of action, while refusing to take itself too seriously. The purists will find plenty of reasons to hate it, but the new generation may actually enjoy this version.

6 out of 10 airships.