This movie has built tremendous expectations in Spain, and personally, I am not quite sure whether they fulfilled or disappointed mine. Here are my thoughts:
The bad: -A problem that arises from being based on five (perhaps more) novels, each with a different plot. It is hard to make a single coherent plot throughout the movie because of this, and Alatriste was not successful at that. It is a compilation of scattered anecdotes from all the books. The biggest one, yet not big enough, was the assault of the Niklaasbergen, or perhaps the war in Flanders. But neither was developed enough. -The relationships between some of the characters were developed in a pretty mediocre way. Malatesta, for instance, doesn't make a very good villain. This could be intended though, for their enmity throughout the books is accidental, and there doesn't seem to be a very logical reason for it becoming such a personal hatred, since it is a matter of loyalty on both parts. However, in the books he is really portrayed as a backstabbing villain (though not much different from Alatriste himself), and the movie fails to recreate that deep personal hatred they feel. Another badly created relationship is that between Angelica and In~igo. It doesn't seem to be much of a love/hate one, but more like a confused attraction by both of them. These character interpretations are very much based on my interpretation of the book, and naturally, it might be different for other people, so don't take my word for it too much on this particular topic. -Viggo, in part. The acting was good, certainly. Perhaps the best in the movie. And his speaking proves to be an undeniable effort, especially because of all the work they said he has put in it. But still, something of his voice (not his accent as much as his tone) differentiated him from the rest of the crew. It seemed he had a throat problem. At some points this is blatant, however as the movie goes on you end up not paying so much attention to it. Yet still, it distracts at certain points.
The good: -I think few movies match up to this one in quality of set and costumes. The money invested is apparent, and we are thankful for it. It is, I repeat, at the very top, even by Hollywood standards. -The best, the very best, are the battle scenes. I heard a story of the sword-fight choreographer rejoicing after the director told him that in this movie "people actually kill". I was happy to hear it, for sometimes one wishes certain movies simply skipped the battle scenes because of their stupidity and absolute disregard for the smallest bit of realism. But my expectations were incredibly exceeded! People DO kill, and by God they do it well. People bleed aplenty (though not exaggeratedly), they do not fall immediately and silently after being struck a blow or having been shot. They quiver about in the ground, scream, and bleed to death. Especially visible in the first scene, a blindly chosen blow from the hero is not enough to kill the villain. When he kills, he does it one at a time, and keeps at it with him until he dies properly. It is gritty and very realistic, it made my heart jump at times. But most importantly, it is not forced or pushed. No gore for its own sake, just enough to leave a mark. I praise the movie because of this with all my heart, without a doubt it is the best I have seen at taking this particular care with the action scenes. I will not easily forget this. -Now, this, I am not sure about. It could be either good or bad, depending how you look at it. It does not reveal new information about the future books (if there are indeed going to be any now that the movie is made). Nevetheless, it does depict Alatriste's whole life, for his death at the battle of Rocroi is shown. But it is told early on in the present books that he would die there, so it is no surprise. Any thoughts on this?
Concluding, the movie is not excellent in every aspect. In fact, it is pretty bad at some. But it is something new. Not only a historic milestone for Spanish cinema because of the numbers, but it is very memorable in its own right. It makes an excellent companion to the books, though not a substitute. Even those who haven't read them will appreciate the movie for its visual attractive and its historical theme and perspective, one very new to cinema.
The bad: -A problem that arises from being based on five (perhaps more) novels, each with a different plot. It is hard to make a single coherent plot throughout the movie because of this, and Alatriste was not successful at that. It is a compilation of scattered anecdotes from all the books. The biggest one, yet not big enough, was the assault of the Niklaasbergen, or perhaps the war in Flanders. But neither was developed enough. -The relationships between some of the characters were developed in a pretty mediocre way. Malatesta, for instance, doesn't make a very good villain. This could be intended though, for their enmity throughout the books is accidental, and there doesn't seem to be a very logical reason for it becoming such a personal hatred, since it is a matter of loyalty on both parts. However, in the books he is really portrayed as a backstabbing villain (though not much different from Alatriste himself), and the movie fails to recreate that deep personal hatred they feel. Another badly created relationship is that between Angelica and In~igo. It doesn't seem to be much of a love/hate one, but more like a confused attraction by both of them. These character interpretations are very much based on my interpretation of the book, and naturally, it might be different for other people, so don't take my word for it too much on this particular topic. -Viggo, in part. The acting was good, certainly. Perhaps the best in the movie. And his speaking proves to be an undeniable effort, especially because of all the work they said he has put in it. But still, something of his voice (not his accent as much as his tone) differentiated him from the rest of the crew. It seemed he had a throat problem. At some points this is blatant, however as the movie goes on you end up not paying so much attention to it. Yet still, it distracts at certain points.
The good: -I think few movies match up to this one in quality of set and costumes. The money invested is apparent, and we are thankful for it. It is, I repeat, at the very top, even by Hollywood standards. -The best, the very best, are the battle scenes. I heard a story of the sword-fight choreographer rejoicing after the director told him that in this movie "people actually kill". I was happy to hear it, for sometimes one wishes certain movies simply skipped the battle scenes because of their stupidity and absolute disregard for the smallest bit of realism. But my expectations were incredibly exceeded! People DO kill, and by God they do it well. People bleed aplenty (though not exaggeratedly), they do not fall immediately and silently after being struck a blow or having been shot. They quiver about in the ground, scream, and bleed to death. Especially visible in the first scene, a blindly chosen blow from the hero is not enough to kill the villain. When he kills, he does it one at a time, and keeps at it with him until he dies properly. It is gritty and very realistic, it made my heart jump at times. But most importantly, it is not forced or pushed. No gore for its own sake, just enough to leave a mark. I praise the movie because of this with all my heart, without a doubt it is the best I have seen at taking this particular care with the action scenes. I will not easily forget this. -Now, this, I am not sure about. It could be either good or bad, depending how you look at it. It does not reveal new information about the future books (if there are indeed going to be any now that the movie is made). Nevetheless, it does depict Alatriste's whole life, for his death at the battle of Rocroi is shown. But it is told early on in the present books that he would die there, so it is no surprise. Any thoughts on this?
Concluding, the movie is not excellent in every aspect. In fact, it is pretty bad at some. But it is something new. Not only a historic milestone for Spanish cinema because of the numbers, but it is very memorable in its own right. It makes an excellent companion to the books, though not a substitute. Even those who haven't read them will appreciate the movie for its visual attractive and its historical theme and perspective, one very new to cinema.