The Count of Monte Cristo | Movie Reaction

The Count of Monte Cristo- Thank you so very much for reacting to this beautiful movie for me, my dear friend!!! I am so, so happy that you really loved this movie! I really hoped you would. I truly love Jim Caviezel as an actor!! And I love him as Edmond Dantes!! I also absolutely love time period piece movies like this one, because they're so beautiful. The costumes are gorgeous and fabulous, the settings often contain historical elements and events, and the stories are passionate and moving. They're always so beautifully made. This movie is based on one of Alexandre Dumas' most famous classic novels... The Count of Monte Cristo, written back in 1844 and the historical events are set in the years 1814-1839, at the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's reign of power. After he was sent to live out the remainder of his days as a prisoner on the island of Elba, where this movie begins. Although... We know from history that Napolean did actually manage to escape from Elba in an attempt to regain his power, until he was once again arrested and sent to another island like Elba, where he was forced to remain for the rest of his days, and where he died. The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite classic novel of all time!! So, I was absolutely thrilled when I heard so many years ago, that they were making this movie based on it, and even happier that Jim Caviezel was going to be playing Edmond Dantes. I love Jim Caviezel in a number of movies, and he has very quickly risen up to become one of my absolute favorite actors of all time too! He's also in one of my all time favorite shows, titled... Person of Interest, which I absolutely and highly recommend for you to watch, if you are at all interested in watching more with Jim Caviezel!! You would absolutely love this show!! And... While I do believe that Mel Gibson knew of Jim Caviezel and his earlier works before this movie, I do believe that it was because of Jim Caviezel's acting skills within this movie, that Gibson chose to cast Jim as Jesus Christ in his film... The Passion of the Christ. And I most certainly understand why. So phenomenal! Jim Caviezel is in a number of fantastic movies, one of which is indeed Frequency just as you mentioned in your comments after you finished watching this movie. And he's always phenomenal!! :) And now... Edmond Dantes is a good man, yet most certainly naïve and at times, foolish for trusting in the wrong people who come to steal his life away very suddenly, just when he was at his most happiest in life. However, a priest within the Chateau d'If helps to give Edmond his strength back, as well as gives him a purpose to go on living by teaching him not only how to read and write, other languages and subjects, but also how to swordfight too. And most importantly, he reminds Edmond that God is in everything in spite of Edmond's disbelief upon losing his faith in God after spending many years within the prison. Then, Priest rewards their friendship with a path to riches beyond Edmond's imagination. I also love Priest's final line to Edmond, after Edmond claims that he no longer believes in God... "It doesn't matter. He believes in you." Against Priest’s wishes, Edmond uses his knowledge and treasure to seek out revenge against each of those who took his life from him. And yet, through intricate plots and long suffering during his fight for revenge, Edmond at last enacts his justice on those who wronged him, yet righteously doesn’t kill any of his enemies, with the exception of the prison warden, until the ending when Edmond is forced to kill his former friend, who gives him no choice in the matter. Fernand selfishly couldn't live in a world where Edmond is alive and happy, and therefore he forces Edmond’s hand. In regards to Edmond killing the prison warden, played by actor, Michael Wincott, who is famous for always playing villains in his movies because of his voice and face... I feel that Edmond kills him more out of self defense than straight out murder. Because Edmond didn't kill Jacopo afterwards on the beach, even though Jacopo would not have hesitated to kill Edmond in that moment if given the chance. This shows that Edmond still had much good in him, and that he hadn't lost his sense of mercy and kindness in spite of his many years of pain and longsuffering. Yes... The warden caused Edmond so much pain too, and yes... A part of Edmond surely wanted to kill him out of vengeance too. And yet... Had Edmond allowed this man to live, the warden would have undoubtedly made his way back up the rocks to his prison, and he would have then sent off a letter to Villfort to inform him that Edmond has escaped. Edmond would have been on the run and wouldn't have been able to become the Count of Monte Cristo. The other two prison guards were just servants and were clearly very poor, and therefore they wouldn't have known how to read and write. At least enough to write anyone to inform them that a prisoner has escaped. So yes... Edmond killed the warden, but not so much out of revenge, but mostly out of self defense. The long game Edmond plays as he seeks his revenge against Fernand, Dunglar, Chief Prosecutor Villfort, and even Mercedes until he discovers that she still truly loves him, and the truth about her reasons for marrying Fernand so quickly after she had been told he had been executed... Absolutely phenomenal!!! I absolutely love this beautiful and intricate storyline, along with all the sensational twists and turns. Yes... Edmond's revenge is smart and absolutely just brilliant! And the rest of the acting throughout this movie is phenomenal too!! Fernand Mondego, played by Guy Pearce, is evil and creepy, which was no surprise to me, given that he's a villain in pretty much every movie I've ever seen with him. But he's brilliant! Fernand's pride and his jealousy becomes his downfall, long before he died in the duel at the end. All because he was simply jealous that his friend could be so happy in spite of being poor, when he himself was always rich and so much better off. He was always just miserable. And the end fight between Fernand and Edmond is just so satisfying and incredible! I am always on the edge of my seat for the entire duel, smiling from ear to ear! :) Guy Pearce plays a phenomenal despicable villain throughout this movie. Yes... Edmond gets his revenge, but because God gives him his revenge. Not because Edmond takes it. Which I absolutely love! Also... I absolutely love, love, love Richard Harris as an actor too! I grew up with a number of his movies, and he was a brilliant stage actor as well! And I truly love his character, Priest, or Abbe Faria, and his friendship with Edmond throughout their time together within Chateau d'If. It's so sad that Priest dies so tragically, when they were so close to being free together. Fortunately, Edmond never forgets Priest's teachings and the lessons he learned from him. Richard Harris was an absolutely brilliant actor in his lifetime, and I miss him very much now that he's long since passed on. Richard Harris is most certainly remembered for playing the original Albus Dumbledore in the first two Harry Potter movies, and then he sadly died shortly after the second movie in the Harry Potter franchise... Harry Potter: And the Chamber of Secrets, and very shortly after The Count of Monte Cristo finished filming. So, so sad. I miss him very much within the acting world. I too would have loved to see him continue to play Dumbledore in the rest of the Harry movies as well. Michael Gambon is brilliant too, but just how different and wonderful would Richard Harris have been? Jacopo is played by Luis Guzman, who is in a ton of movies, though usually in more minor roles than this major role he plays throughout this movie. This is one of his biggest roles, and I love him so much!! He's so funny and his character definitely brings out the majority of any comedy within this movie too. But most of all... I love his friendship with Edmond, as well as his loyalty and devotion to protecting Edmond, even from himself. Which he does. Phenomenal! Albert is played by Henry Cavill, who is certainly best known for playing Superman/Clark Kent in the latest Superman/Batman/Justice League movies. I have to admit, that I don't care for the superhero movies he's in. I just don't like the movies. Henry Cavill does play Superman/Clark Kent pretty well. I do like Henry Cavill as Superman because he fits the role very well. I just don't like the movies. Oh, and in case you wondered... Henry Cavill was eighteen years old throughout the filming of this movie. He was just about the right age for playing a fifteen, sixteen year old. He just happened to look slightly older than sixteen back then, than the age he really was. With all this being said... I really enjoy his role in The Count of Monte Cristo as Albert. He's a talented actor. And I like Albert because he's good and brave, and he's very understanding, as we come to see in the end when we see that Albert has come to love Edmond as his father. But yes... I also absolutely feel so badly for him, because Fernand had been his father as far as he knew, for his entire life. So, of course he's broken up upon seeing his so called father die in the ending. It's so sad. Edmond's revenge on Chief Prosecutor Villfort, played by James Frain, is perfect and so, so satisfying. I love how Edmond scares Villfort into confessing in front of Jacopo and the soldiers. And I love how Edmond offers Villfort the opportunity to cowardly end his misery, only for the pistol to be without a musket ball so that he too would have to suffer in prison like he had inflicted upon Edmond. Fabulous!! Dunglar's end is satisfying as well. I like how Edmond fights him on his ship after allowing him to feel like he had just succeeded in stealing some of his gold, thanks to help once again from Luigi and the other smugglers. And while it appears that Edmond might have killed him upon hanging him, Edmond orders the men to cut Dunglar down before he can't talk... Telling us as the viewers, that Dunglar had been cut down before he was strangled to death. Fantastic! As for Luigi Vampa, the smuggler and thief… I love him as a character. Although, I do wish we could have gotten to know his character a little bit more. Sadly, this movie could only include so much of the story, and therefore Edmond's friendship with Luigi is sadly cut down to all we get here in this movie. I would have loved to see Edmond's time spent as a smuggler and to see Edmond's and Vampa's friendship grow. This is where this movie could have added an extra hour that I feel could have very easily been added, so that we could have gotten to know Luigi a little better. I find him to be quite interesting, and I love that he and Edmond come to be dear friends during the months they smuggled together. I love Luigi's continued loyalty to Edmond as well. And finally... Mercedes is played by Dagmara Dominczyk. She's only ever guest starred in a few other shows I've seen and no other movies that I've seen, but I really love her role in this movie too. She's quite beautiful and for me... Her acting is amazing. To some people, her caliber of acting may not be as strong as everyone else's in this movie, but I absolutely love how she plays Mercedes. Plus... This movie is one of Dagmara's first roles in any movie and show. Although... She actually guest stars in an episode of Person of Interest alongside Jim Caviezel, who stars in this phenomenal show I love so much as well!! And they have great chemistry together. Both in this one episode of Person of Interest, and especially here in The Count of Monte Cristo. As tragic as it is, I also love how Mercedes is forced to marry Fernand because she had become pregnant with Edmond’s son by the time she had been told he had been executed. What a phenomenal twist! If she hadn’t have told this lie, the people of Marseilles would have shunned her, and she would have been known to everyone as a harlot. And she didn’t deserve to be so for loving a good man so terribly wronged and taken away from her. I love this twist, and it certainly is a twist I didn’t see coming, even though the clues were all there. I certainly understand your dislike and distrust in Mercedes, Josh. However, I can absolutely forgive her. After all... Just like Edmond, she too was young and naive at the time shown in the beginning of the movie. And she, Edmond, and Fernand have been friends since early childhood. She never saw just how truly creepy and evil Fernand really was. Because of their friendship. She simply, and she naively believed that Fernand was nothing more than a flirt, even with her. She never once gave into his advancements. So, I don't see her to be disloyal to Edmond in any way. Simply naive. As for why Fernand cheats over and over on Mercedes... Chances are that his reasons go beyond Fernand just being the scum he is. I feel that his reasons come from how he told Mercedes that she did please him some of the time. And while he never knew Albert wasn't his son, he most likely sensed that Mercedes' heart never belonged to him. They made love of course early on in their marriage, so that she would be able to pass Albert off as his son. However, I'm sure Fernand eventually came to know that she never loved him, before he started cheating on her with other women. As for none of these characters recognizing Edmond when he comes back into their lives as Monte Cristo... This movie takes place in the time of Napoleon, when medicine was scarce and prisoners thrown away in prisons such as shown in this movie, typically died not long into their sentence, whether due to poor health, or suicide... as we see Edmond attempt before he meets the Priest. Plus... Everyone was told that Edmond was executed. So, of course no one would recognize him thirteen, or rather sixteen years later in spite of Monte Cristo's uncanny resemblance to Edmond. Even to those closest to him. And if they did, they simply shrugged it off due to disbelief that he could be Edmond. Mercedes does recognize Edmond, but at times even she kept seeing Monte Cristo as nothing more than a ghost coming to punish her for marrying Fernand so quickly after the man she truly loved was supposedly killed. Her guilt consumed her. Were it not for Edmond slipping up by subconsciously twirling his hair in front of Mercedes and then saying his sir name, she never would have accepted Edmond was alive. Because Edmond being alive was a miracle she couldn't believe. And I feel that Fernand is simply far too arrogant and ignorant to believe that Edmond could have survived all the pain and suffering he caused him. No one could believe that he survived all those years trapped in that kind of Hell. Many people who watch this movie mention that they don't understand why no one recognizes Edmond, given that he and Monte Cristo look the same. If you ask me... This makes perfect sense. I honestly don't understand why no one ever recognizes that Clark Kent and Superman are also one in the same in the superhero movies. All Superman does is mess up his hair a little and puts on a pair of glasses, when Superman's hair is simply slicked back. How does no one see that they're the same man? I can easily suspend any disbelief I might have with no one recognizing Edmond in this movie, but I can't necessarily do so for Superman and Clark Kent. It almost seems too ridiculous to me. And as for Edmond not knowing how to read, write, swordfight, etc... Again, in these days, it was rare for anyone who was poor to have any kind of education or knowledge how to fight with a sword. Only the rich did, unless the poor were fortunate to know someone who could teach them. Edmond and his family were extremely poor. This is why Fernand is so jealous of Edmond. Because Fernand had wealth and power, yet not the love of a woman he coveted, or the happiness his poor friend had in spite of him being poor. And lastly... This classic is a story about revenge, and yet it's also a beautiful story of redemption and one finding peace amongst their pain. Finding faith again in God. Edmond gets his revenge, but he never truly loses himself in doing so. Only for a little while. The good man in him never vanishes completely. And in the end, these treacherous men who are punished, are punished justly for treacherous crimes in which they would have gotten away with were it not for Edmond seeking revenge against them. He doesn't wind up killing anyone, except for Fernand, who gives him absolutely no choice but to do so. God will give justice to all those who deserve it. I believe this with all my heart. Sadly, when the first scripts for this movie were written, the writers and director wanted to write their story without all of the talk of God, in spite of God and Edmond's love for God and his loss of faith in God until the ending, being a major part of this classic. I guess that the director and writers felt that maybe so much talk of God might have put off a number of this movie's potential viewers. However, Jim Caviezel immediately insisted that everything to do with God be left in as a part of his character's story, because Jim Caviezel himself has a very deep and strong faith in God. He refused to take on this role if they refused to listen, but they really wanted him for the role of Edmond Dantes. So, thankfully they wrote this movie just as it should be written. Edmond's faith, and even his loss of faith in God until he finds it again in the end, is absolutely beautiful and so powerful!! :) Thank you once again for reacting to The Count of Monte Cristo for me, Josh! I want to thank you again for watching a movie I love so much! It means a lot to me. Thank you truly. :) Sincerely, Heidi

Heidi Elizabeth Marcum