Thrilling feats and flights of derring-do

Watching the latest take on Alexander Dumas’ swashbuckling saga, “The Three Musketeers,” we were reminded of the film times of the ’50s, when sword and costume capers were in vogue. Errol Flynn and other swashbuckling stars satisfied viewers’ yen for action and adventure, and the fad was quickly exported to Philippine screens, both in its original Hollywood incarnations and in local period photoplays like “Siete Infantes de Lara.”

How does the new “Musketeers” saga fare compared to those pioneering productions? First off, the new Musketeers are nowhere near as droll and nimble as Flynn and his high-flying, fancy-pantsy contemporaries.
Some of the fun and humor absent in the new version is compensated for by the scene-stealing super-villainous portrayal turned in by Milla Jovovich, and by the fussy, prissy antics of the character of the King of France (Freddie Fox). With their help, the film flashes and flares often enough to keep viewers interested.

Also effectively staged and defty entertaining are the movie’s extended swordsplay sequences, for which the actors involved must have practised for months. All that hard work was worth it, because they literally lift the film’s occasionally flagging spirits, particularly when they’re staged on pinnacles and razor-thin church steeples.

The film makes full use of newfangled filmmaking technology and effects, but it’s still the scenes celebrating traditional feats and flights of derring-do that delight viewers the most.

In fact the many scenes featuring a fictive invention combining a ship and a zeppelin eventually lose their novelty and welcome through sheer repetition, and we’re relieved when the swashbuckling actors regain control of the story. Special effects are fun, but human characters in flux and action are still the most . . . effective.

‘Winnie the Pooh’

The other film we watched last week, “Winnie the Pooh,” introduces a new generation of children to the fey and adorable characters first brought to the screen in cartoon shorts by Disney animators in the ’60s.

Winnie is a sweet but rather clueless little bear, and his friends, like Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl and Rabbit, are similarly fey and uncomplicated. Their adventures are relatively unthreatening, which makes them OK for little kids to watch.

The bonus is that some of the young viewers’ accompanying adults may also find themselves liking what they see, because it takes them back to a much more innocent and far less stressful and cynical time, when life was to be enjoyably lived, rather than surmounted and survived.

The kids learn a lot about relating to other children and/or creatures, and even if their parents find themselves dozing off once in a while, when they wake up from their brief nap, they feel – sweetly refreshed!