The Three Musketeers - Part II: Milady

Picking up right on the heels of Part I (the two films were shot at the same time), this is the second half of the seminal Alexandre Dumas swashbuckler, shot through with wit, swagger and spectacularly dynamic action scenes. Although Milady (the perfectly cast Eva Green) appeared to perish at the end of the previous installment, you can’t keep a bad woman down, apparently, and she’s back to seduce D’Artagnan even as war breaks out and Athos, Porthos and Aaramis are sent to the front…

There was much to admire, earlier this year, in the first rollicking film in Martin Bourboulon’s two-picture adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’s classic: the swaggering fight choreography, the ostentatious insults parried along with the swordplay, the combined charisma of the musketeers (Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris and Pio Marmaï) and D’Artagnan (François Civil), which was only slightly obscured by a period-appropriate layer of sweat and grime. But the main attraction was an irresistible Eva Green, mercurial and merciless as the treacherous Milady, a spy and general agent of mischief in the French court. If anything, this follow-up is even more enjoyable, its appeal boosted by Milady slinking on to centre stage, her weaponised sexuality backed up by her private collection of daggers and swords.

Wendy Ide, The Observer

This second part of Martin Bourboulon’s Alexandre Dumas adaptation is every bit as dashing and daring as its predecessor – helpfully recapped here – making it officially the best new action franchise of 2023 (part 1 came out last year) that is also the best new action franchise of 1844.

Helen O’Hara, Time Out