The Musketeers: Season One Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

The Musketeers: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

"That flower is the signature of a woman who works for the Cardinal..."

The Musketeers stumbles out of the gate, I'll grant you. It hobbles and wobbles its way into a slow recovery and narrowly crosses the mid-season mark with its dignity intact. Yes and yes. But, given a proper chance, there's a good deal of fun to be had, not to mention some laughs, plenty of charm, and clever twists to a familiar classic. The cast is great too, particularly Tom Burke, Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles and Luke Pasqualino as the titular swordsmen and Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi as the treacherous Cardinal Richelieu, and the production design is impressive, given the series' modest BBC budget. If anything, modern television viewers might just have too little time, patience and, really, need to sit through such a rough opening act to only mildly enjoy a somewhat outdated, rather predictable, at-times haphazardly scripted action-adventure series. Before I completely scare you away, though, know this: those who stick it through won't be all that sorry they did, as the latter half of The Musketeers' 10-episode debut has a lot more to offer than its initial three or four episodes. Given another season or two (minus Capaldi, unfortunately, who's being written out due to his new run as The Doctor), the series could turn out to be a semi-refined little swashbuckler worthy of a spot in your DVR rotation. Or perhaps even some more shelf space among your Blu-ray collection.

• Friends and Enemies: The brightest and best Musketeers of the King’s Regiment, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, are dispatched by Captain Treville to find a missing Musketeer carrying important letters on behalf of King Louis. But Cardinal Richelieu has plans to increase his political power and seeks to sabotage the good reputation of the Musketeers. Meanwhile, D’Artagnan travels from his family farm in Gascony to Paris to petition the King but his peaceful plans are turned upside down when he is forced to find the Musketeers and seek vengeance for the brutal murder of a loved one.
• Sleight of Hand: Notorious criminal, Vadim, seeks to make life unbearable for the authorities that have imprisoned him. When he engineers a full-scale riot it falls to the Musketeers to protect those whom he seeks to destroy. Will the Musketeers discover his plan in time and stop him from endangering the monarchy? And can the inexperienced D’Artagnan prove he is worthy of becoming a Musketeer or do his loyalties lie elsewhere?
• Commodities: The Musketeers are dispatched to Le Havre to collect the infamous merchant trader and explorer Bonnaire and bring him back to Paris to be reprimanded for breaking France’s trade treaty. This straightforward mission soon descends into a treacherous battle as they must defeat Bonnaire’s surprising number of enemies. Athos is shockingly forced to confront his past which threatens to engulf him. Will he overcome his demons and help the Musketeers safely return to Paris or will Bonnaire’s enemies get the better of them?
• The Good Soldier: When Aramis’ old friend Marsac, a former Musketeer, unexpectedly returns to Paris the Musketeers are thrown into turmoil fully aware that they should report him for desertion. His appearance coincides with the royal visit of the King’s beloved sister and her husband, the Duke of Savoy, whom the Musketeers must protect. Marsac believes he finally knows the truth behind the infamous massacre which killed his troop and wants Aramis’ help to prove it.
• The Homecoming: Porthos wakes up from his drunken birthday celebrations with no memory of the night before; not unusual except there’s a dead body beside him. After being unjustly sentenced to death he’s abducted to the dangerous Court of Miracles, the streets of his childhood. In order to save him the Musketeers must prove his innocence. Their investigations uncover a tangled web of divided loyalties and greed and they risk their lives to infiltrate the unruly slums of the Court of Miracles before it is too late.
• The Exiles: Aramis and d’Artagnan are thwarted in their task to transport a young woman and her baby from a village outside Paris to the Palace when armed men abduct her baby. They must find out who she is exactly and why anyone would go to such lengths to kidnap her son. Meanwhile, the King’s royal hunting party is disrupted by the sudden appearance of Louis’ banished mother, Marie de Medici, seeking royal protection from an unknown assassin. The Musketeers must fight to protect both mother and baby while also loyally defending the throne.
• A Rebellious Woman: Following the tragic death of a young girl underneath the royal carriage, the Musketeers investigations into her missing friend lead them into the world of a high-born and enlightened woman, Ninon, who really gets under Athos’ skin. The Musketeers are forced to put aside their animosity towards the Cardinal when his life is placed in danger and they must rescue this extraordinary woman.
• The Challenge: The Musketeers are tasked with bringing the fearsome Labarge, a regional Intendant under arrest for the murder of two Musketeers, to Paris. The Red Guards, resentful of the Musketeers’ handling of him, initiate a vicious fight between the two regiments. Fed up with the disruptive rivalry between the Musketeers and the Red Guards, the King calls a contest between them to settle which one is stronger once and for all. D’Artagnan is determined to be chosen to fight so that he can prove himself worthy to be a Musketeer.
• Knight Takes Queen: Queen Anne’s taking of the waters is cut short when her life is put in mortal danger. Meanwhile, Louis dines with wealthy German banker, Count Mellendorf, who is looking for a French match for his beautiful daughter. As the Musketeers try to spirit Anne back to Paris, they’re forced to seek refuge in a fortified convent, where Aramis comes face-to-face with his past. Under siege and fearful for their lives, the Mother Superior and nuns help the Musketeers to defend the convent.
• Musketeers Don't Die Easily: The series reaches its climax when Athos takes a woman hostage and an unexpected rift between the Musketeers threatens to blow them apart. Meanwhile, the Cardinal, fearful the Musketeers will prove he masterminded the attempt on the Queen’s life, compels Milady to kill them by any means. The Musketeers must use all their wits and courage to outsmart her and save Constance. Can the Musketeers restore their team and bring Milady and the Cardinal to justice? Or will Milady finally wreak her revenge?

The Musketeers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Dusty, smoky and occasionally bright and sunny, The Musketeers' 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode delivers a faithful presentation of the show's first season. Noise tends to fluctuate (sometimes to distracting ends), crush can be a tad severe, and detail is a bit inconsistent, but most of the issues trace back to the source, nothing more. The result is a series that looks good but not quite as good as it could. The Blu-ray, of course, follows suit. Strong colors are washed away, although rich yellows and reds still adorn torch-lit interiors, lovely greens and browns bring exteriors to life, and skintones are handsomely and naturally saturated. Contrast and black levels never really impress (again, blame it on the series' photography), but it's in keeping with the aesthetic of the show, so no serious harm there. Fortunately, edges are generally crisp and clean, fine textures and close-ups are rather revealing, and delineation is decidedly decent. Add to that a lack of significant artifacting, banding and aliasing and you have another solid BBC presentation that fares about as well as it could, even during scenes that aren't as striking as the production design and period costumes.

The Musketeers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Musketeers' DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo mix certainly gets the job done, and without any major mishaps to report. However, the two-channel presentation is a big disappointment, especially during the series' action sequences. Sound effects are clear and nicely prioritized, but without LFE support or any rear speaker activity, even the most thrilling adventure is rendered flat and two-dimensional. Again, it's still a capable track as lossless stereo mixes go -- dialogue is crystal clear, the soundscape is relatively convincing, and there aren't any technical issues of note -- it simply isn't going to wow anyone, particularly fans, who may have been hoping for a more robust and rousing experience.

The Musketeers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Creating Their World (HD, 19 minutes): Executive producer/lead writer Adrian Hodges, historical advisor Mark Bannister, producer Colin Wratten and other key members of the cast and crew discuss the series' authenticity, the showrunners' tightrope walk between real and fictional history, production design and props, sets and locations, and much more.
• At Boot Camp (HD, 17 minutes): Tom Burke (Athos), Santiago Cabrera (Aramis), Howard Charles (Porthos) and Luke Pasqualino (D'Artagnan) assemble in the Czech Republic to learn all the necessary skills from horse master Petra Novotná, stunt coordinator Leo Stransky, sword master Roman Spacil, swordsmen Pavel Voracek and Libor Vrba, stuntman David Maj, and stunt director Steve Griffin.
• Muskets, Leather, Corsets and Swords (HD, 17 minutes): Costumes, armor, jewelry and weapons are brought front and center in this costume design featurette, with interviews with designer Phoebe De Gaye and other crewmen, cast members and showrunners.
• Saving Constance, Their Finest Hour (HD, 12 minutes): A short but satisfying behind-the-scenes mini-doc that follows cast and crew as they prepare, stage and execute the climax of the first season.

The Musketeers: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Twenty years ago, The Musketeers would have been must-see TV. Today, it's a bit behind the times, with bigger, better adventure dramas making it look like a relic. Give it some time, though. Stick around for all ten episodes. Those who do will find that first impressions aren't always the right impressions. After a rocky start (if five episodes can be called a "start"), the series finds its footing, draws its sword and begins to carve out a reputation for itself. If Season Two continues with increased precision, The Musketeers might just graduate to must-see TV. Time will tell. While you're waiting, you could certainly do worse than the Blu-ray release of Season One. With a solid AV presentation and a small but entertaining selection of extras, the only real disappointment to be had is that the disc doesn't boast a lossless 5.1 mix. Otherwise, grab this one when it's on sale and warm up to its charms before its second season arrives.