The Return of the Musketeers (1989)

60% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
39% of users liked it
(920 ratings)

Richard Lester returned to his double-barreled successes of the 1970s, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, with Return of the Musketeers, a film that was inexplicably shelved for several years, making its belated premiere on cable television. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Twenty Years… More Richard Lester returned to his double-barreled successes of the 1970s, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, with Return of the Musketeers, a film that was inexplicably shelved for several years, making its belated premiere on cable television. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Twenty Years Later, the film takes place (appropriately enough) two decades after the death of Milady de Winter. Though Milady may have died, her nefarious schemes have been taken up by her daughter Justine (Kim Cattrall), who maneuvers with the conspiring Cardinal Mazarin (Philippe Noiret) to gain control of the crown through Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin). D'Artagnan (Michael York) calls for his old compatriots Porthos (Frank Finlay), Athos (Oliver Reed), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) to once again go "one for all and all for one." But complications set in when Athos and Aramis take sides with the crown and Athos' adopted son Raoul (C. Thomas Howell) falls in love in Justine. The film is dedicated to character actor Roy Kinnear who plays Planchet, who died in an equestrian accident during the production. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 43 min.
Directed By: Richard Lester
Genres: Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 1, 1989 Wide
On DVD: Nov 24, 1993
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Better than you might reasonably expect ... but only slightly.
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com
A fun follow-up to Lester's fantastic "Musketeer" films of the seventies - with most of the original cast!

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

This third movie in the Musketeers movies started in 74 wasn't needed. Sure it has the same actors for the most part, but it's more of a stupid comedy movie than a great adventure. I didn't like it.
jay n

Light hearted romp that's no classic but moves at a lively clip and has a spirtied cast, most returning from the 70's version of The Three Musketeers.
xGary X

This belated second sequel to The Three Musketeers is a rather slapdash, uneven patchwork of weak writing and sloppily directed set pieces that fails to recreate the magic of the previous films. It's not a complete waste of time as there are some funny lines and decent moments,… More
This belated second sequel to The Three Musketeers is a rather slapdash, uneven patchwork of weak writing and sloppily directed set pieces that fails to recreate the magic of the previous films. It's not a complete waste of time as there are some funny lines and decent moments, and Kim Cattrall looks pretty good in leather pants. Christopher Lee's character is completely wasted though.
Stuart B

Good fun
Dean M

Worst one of 'The Three Musketeers' movies because they looked olders.
David S

After two great films in the 70's there was no reason to suggest that Lester couldn't repeat the trick with another Musketeer film in the late 80's with the same cast. After all the film is supposedly based on Dumas' '20 Years After' and if this had been… More
After two great films in the 70's there was no reason to suggest that Lester couldn't repeat the trick with another Musketeer film in the late 80's with the same cast. After all the film is supposedly based on Dumas' '20 Years After' and if this had been a success I'm sure 'The Man in the Iron Mask' would have followed (although Chamberlain had already done a decent version of this in the 70's). Unfortunately the film is hampered by a number of problems, the most obvious being the tragic death of Kinnear during the filming. Also Lester has forgotten that the previous films had real heart to them and has boosted up the comedy value to the point where the viewer can't take the central characters seriously anymore. Howell and Cattrall have been brought into the mix for newer viewers and they're fine in their roles but you end up missing Dunaway and Heston and Lee is reduced to being a bumbling coward. A shame.