IMDb plot summary: A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend", escapes and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.
Directed by Kevin Reynolds. Starring Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, and Christopher Adamson.
The Count of Monte Cristo stars Jim Caviezel as Edmond Dantes, the poor but ambitious sailor who finds himself betrayed by his best friend, played here by Guy Pierce. Dantes spends over a decade locked away in prison for a crime he didn't commit before managing to escape and vowing revenge on the people who put him there in the first place. While there is a lot I enjoy about this movie, there are two rather gaping flaws that keep it from rising too high on my chart. One is that Caviezel is a tremendously bland actor, and even while playing three distinct characters here -- the naive innocent, the jaded inmate, and the dashing cavalier -- he remains very uncompelling. The second is that the movie is uncertain what it's actually about. It keeps throwing in these halfhearted attempts at an anti-vengeance message, including at the very end, but that's undercut by the fact that, according to what actually happens in this movie, vengeance fricking rules and gets you everything you want. The conflicting messages keep the film from ever landing on a deeper level and keep it pretty shallow. It is a fun shallow, and the side characters in particular shine even if our lead does not, but it all feels a little disappointing.
How it entered my Flickchart:
The Count of Monte Cristo > Pi
The Count of Monte Cristo < Safe
The Count of Monte Cristo > Incendies
The Count of Monte Cristo < Show Me Love
The Count of Monte Cristo < Man on Wire
The Count of Monte Cristo < Panic Room
The Count of Monte Cristo < Family Business
The Count of Monte Cristo < Don't Look Up
The Count of Monte Cristo > Cafe Society
The Count of Monte Cristo < Koyaanisqatsi
The Count of Monte Cristo < The Family Man
The Count of Monte Cristo > Juno and the Paycock
Final spot: #1383 out of 3712, or 63%.
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