THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO (2024)

Name: THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO (2024)
Item: THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO (2024)
Author: Review

"Beautiful Rendition of a Classic Novel"

Content: -1 Caution advised for older children, including teenagers, and sensitive adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO is a French historical drama set in the early 1800s. Edmond Dantes is wrongly imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. In prison, Edmond befriends a scholarly priest with a vast amount of knowledge about Europe. They plan to escape, but the priest dies. So, 16 years later, Edmond escapes and uses the dead priest’s hidden treasure to pose as a filthy rich nobleman. Through his charm and wits, Edmond enacts a plan of political revenge against his enemies. However, Edmond and his allies are blindsided by love and demons from their past. Will Edmond succumb to his hatred when he faces his greatest enemy?

Based on the classic novel by Alexandre Dumas, THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO is a slam-dunk of a drama. The characters are well-developed, the acting is spectacular, and the cinematography is genuinely jaw-dropping. The movie explores the Christian ideas of justice, perseverance and romantic affection. However, MONTE-CRISTO has brief foul language, light Romantic and feminist themes, and strong violence, including a bloody sword fight. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for teenagers and older children.

Content:

(CC, BB, RoRo, FeFe, L, VV, S, A, D, MM):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Strong Christian, moral worldview where the hero values intelligence and exacting justice against the people who betrayed him, the hero adopts a former thief and a slave girl into his “Monte-Cristo” family, the hero develops a strong father-son bond with a well-learned priest, and the same hero eventually, chooses to spare the lives of his aggressors over bloodshed, marred by some Romantic, feminist elements such as the characters discuss their conflicting yet passionate romantic feelings towards one another, characters have secret love affairs, and the female characters are portrayed as being strong-willed and defying the hero’s preconceptions;

Foul Language:

In the English subtitled version, “damn” and “hell” are uttered;

Violence:

Visceral physical violence throughout, a character is knocked out by a stick, a prisoner is stabbed in the gut, street thugs beat up an aristocratic teenage boy, men and women shoot 19th Century firearms, a woman is strangled by the neck (she lives), a boy stabs his father in the neck, the same boy is shot in the back, two men engage in a gun duel (both of them survive), and the hero engages in a climatic sword fight against the villain where the characters leave blood wounds and gashes with their swords;

Sex:

No onscreen sex, but a villain has a secret love affair with his “mistress,” the hero’s two allies have a secret relationship against his will, the same hero is confronted by the woman he never had the chance to marry, and a boy reveals crudely he’s an illegitimate son of a high ranking French official;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

The aristocratic characters drink wine at various parties;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

The hero and villains smoke their pipes, but there are no drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

The hero impersonates the CEO of an English newspaper company, the same hero enacts a plan of political manipulation to humiliate his enemies, a high-ranking official buries his new-born child inside a coffin, the lead character lies about his old identity to his former lover, and the villains imprison the hero over a fake charge regarding a secret letter from Napoleon.

More Detail:

THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO is a French historical drama based on the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas. After getting wrongly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, Edmond Dantes takes on a new identity as a filthy rich nobleman. Through his charm and wits, Dantes enacts his plan of political revenge against his enemies. However, Dantes and his allies are blindsided by love and the demons of their past. Will Dantes succumb to his hatred?

Set in 19th Century Europe, Edmond Dantes is a hard-working sailor with a bright future ahead. After saving a woman from drowning at sea, Dantes gets promoted as the captain of his cargo ship. Jealous of his success, shipmate Danglars and his co-conspirators charge the young man with treason. With a secret letter stowed in his cabin, they accuse Edmond of being a secret agent of the maligned Napoleon Bonaparte. Edmond then is sentenced to solitary confinement without recourse. Moreover, Edmond is stripped of his chance to marry his fiancée, Mercedes, whom he loves dearly.

During his time in prison, Dantes befriends Abbe Faria, a scholarly priest with vast knowledge of the European world. The priest teaches Edmond the ins-and-outs of Italian and Muslim culture. Both men vow to dig out of prison. Sixteen years later, the dying Faria entrusts Edmond to look after his secret treasure. Edmond narrowly escapes the prison and returns home, only to find that his old life is in shambles. His father died in the interim, his prosecutors have become rich government officials, and his fiancée, Mercedes, has married his worst enemy.

Armed with 16 years of hatred, Edmond reclaims Faria’s vast wealth and assumes a new identity, the enigmatic “Count of Monte-Cristo.” Edmond infiltrates high society and plots his revenge against his enemies. Meanwhile, Edmond takes two young proteges under his wing: Haydee, a former slave girl with intellect, and Albert, the impulsive son of Mercedes.

Haydee and Albert begin to question Edmond’s psychotic behavior. Moreover, Edmond’s enemies begin to catch onto his facade. Will Edmond be able to carry out justice? Or will his lust for vengeance destroy his life?

THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO is a gripping, authentic adaptation of the original French novel. The movie recaptures the drama, romance, and philosophical elements from that book. This adaptation has amazing performances, solid writing and great pacing. The runtime is three hours long, but the story never drags.

The best part is the cinematography. The filmmakers are able to elicit the epic scale of their world. This is further heightened by the “flying drone” shots, where the camera flies around Edmond’s four-story Monte-Cristo mansion, the ports of Italy, and the Mediterranean Sea. Even when the camera is stationary, the camerawork feels immersive and perfectly captures the time period. MONTE-CRISTO is one of the few movies that deserves to be seen in a giant IMAX theater.

MONTE-CRISTO offers a strong Christian, moral worldview marred by some Romantic, feminist elements.

Edmond Dantes has a strong sense of duty, befriends a priest and vows to enact justice against the men who betrayed him. In the beginning, he has a strong bond with his father and vows to be a great husband to Mercedes. Edmond almost kills his final enemy but spares his life at the last minute. Dantes is not explicitly Catholic, but he “redeems” himself by relinquishing his bloodlust. Lastly, his former friend Mercedes convinces him to overcome his addiction to vengeance.

Outside of these Christian elements, MONTE-CRISTO stresses some Romantic, feminist themes.

For example, Edmond and his allies are haunted by their past love lives. Edmond forbids Haydee from expressing her love to a son of the enemy faction. Moreover, the heroes expose a love affair between a court prosecutor and his mistress. After their reunion, Edmond and Mercedes have a debate over their views on “love.” In this version of the story, Mercedes and the other female characters are given more screen time. Mercedes and Haydee directly challenge Edmond’s conceptions of justice. At a later stage, Haydee is disgusted with Edmond’s psychotic plans and openly defies his orders. While subtle, the feminist slant is present.

The biggest downside to MONTE-CRISTO is the story’s “romantic affairs.” There is no onscreen sex or nudity, but a secret love affair between a prosecutor and his mistress is a major plot point. This couple try to hide their newborn child (who’s later saved by Edmond’s ally). Albert, Edmond’s adopted son, stages a love affair with a daughter of the enemy faction. Lastly, at the beginning, Edmond briefly jokes about the idea of cheating on his soon-to-be-wife Mercedes.

MONTE-CRISTO also has some visceral bursts of violence. There are about 15 minutes of action scenes, but these moments are intense. Characters are punched in the gut, a man dies by being stabbed in the neck, and another man dies from a gun wound. At the climax, Edmond and his final enemy engage in a bloody sword fight. Both men swing their swords, leave visible wounds and even stab each other in the stomach. They don’t die, but they have blood dripping down their clothes.

THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO is a slam-dunk of a drama. The characters are well-developed, the acting is spectacular, and the cinematography is genuinely jaw-dropping. The movie explores the Christian ideas of justice, perseverance and romantic affection. However, this movie has some light foul language, strong intense violence and a bloody sword fight. The movie doesn’t have an official MPAA rating but leans towards “PG-13” territory. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for teenagers and young adults.