Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 13, 1993                   TAG: 9311130083
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

THIS 'MUSKETEERS' IS NO CLASSIC

It's a fluffy "lite" take on the venerable swashbuckler that may turn out to be popular with young audiences. But it never comes close to Richard Lester's 1974 film, still the best cinematic treatment of the story.

Writer David Loughery has taken considerable liberty with the plot but retained the key characters and their situation.

Young D'Artagnan (Chris O'Donnell, looking very young indeed) comes to the Paris of Louis XIII to join the Musketeers. On his first day in town, he manages to insult and instigate duels with the title characters: Aramis (Charlie Sheen), Athos (Kiefer Sutherland) and Porthos (Oliver Platt).

Then he joins them in their valiant efforts to save France from the evil machinations of Cardinal Richelieu (Tim Curry) and his minions Milady De Winter (Rebecca De Mornay) and Rochefort (Michael Wincott). The rest is all swordfights, chases, narrow escapes, intrigue, damsels in distress and the like.

Parts of the film work well; others are less successful. Sutherland, Curry, De Mornay and particularly Platt have a fine time with their tongue-in-cheek roles. Sheen doesn't have as much to do, and O'Donnell looks like the only teen-ager at a grown-ups' party. That certainly is a valid interpretation of the part.

Director Stephen Herek ("Bill and Ted ..." "The Mighty Ducks") does a competent job behind the camera, but he could have tightened up the big finish and made it much more effective. Also, his brand of comedy is physical silliness, which can't really compare to inspired, rowdy slapstick of Lester's film.

Younger viewers unfamiliar with this kind of big-screen costume adventure probably will be more forgiving of the film's flaws than their elders, who have seen all this done before and done much, much better. Still, for slick, escapist adventure without graphic violence or rough language, these Musketeers fill the bill.

The Three Musketeers: ** 1/2

A Walt Disney release playing at the Tanglewood Mall Theatre and Salem Valley 8, 7 min. Rated PG for swordplay and mild sexual content.