The Man in the Iron Mask

`The Man in the Iron Mask': a somewhat tinny movie effort

If "The Man in the Iron Mask" had been written by Charles Dickens instead of Alexandre Dumas, the new movie version of it could have been named "A Tale of Two Awful Leonardo DiCaprio Performances."

OK, so his performance in one of two roles isn't completely terrible. But it is kind of ironic that, while DiCaprio is decent enough when he's playing the "good" twin, his turn as the "evil" twin character is really, really bad.

And what's particularly irritating is that DiCaprio's on-screen antics overshadow much better performances by a "dream cast" of co-stars, such as Gabriel Byrne, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich and Gerard Depardieu, playing the legendary Four Musketeers.

Of course, it doesn't help that screenwriter Randall Wallace ("Braveheart"), directing his first feature, concentrates on intrigue and supposed character development - resulting in a slow-moving costume drama that's more about talking than it is about swashing and buckling.

Based somewhat loosely on Alexandre Dumas' much-filmed novel, the movie continues the adventures of the now middle-aged Musketeers. Of the four, only faithful d'Artagnan (Byrne) remains in the king's guard. The fiery Athos (Malkovich) is now a devoted father, the bored Porthos (Depardieu) often talks of suicide, and Aramis (Irons) has become a priest.

But they are reunited by the cruelties of King Louis XIV (DiCaprio), whose wars have left his countrymen starving and whose lusts have directly led to the death of Athos' son. Aramis, secretly the leader of a revolutionary religious sect, hatches a desperate scheme to replace the king with the title character - actually Louis' long-imprisoned twin brother, Philippe (obviously, DiCaprio in a dual role).

Because of his fierce and seemingly misplaced loyalty to the king, d'Artagnan is kept in the dark, which later puts him at odds with his former comrades when their plan is set in motion.

DiCaprio has a few good moments as Philippe, but his wild-eyed performance as Louis is hilarious in places. Fortunately, the Musketeers provide a little distraction - at least Irons, Malkovich and Byrne, who obviously relished their roles. The three also do a good job establishing their characters, despite the fact that they're so underwritten.

However, Depardieu finds himself all too often in the position of perpetrator of an inappropriate flatulence or sex gag.

And Wallace's script is actually more heavy-handed than "Braveheart." To make matters worse, his pacing is so sluggish that the too-brief action sequences have little, if any impact.

"The Man in the Iron Mask" is rated PG-13 for violent sword fighting and some gunplay, vulgar jokes and some sex talk, sex (mostly overheard), male nudity and brief female partial nudity and some scattered profanities.