The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo

The 2000s version of Alexandre Dumas’ classic revenge story, The Count of Monte Cristo upped the swashbuckling action while keeping the Bonaparte era intrigue which made the original such a timeless classic. The plot involves naval officer, Edmond Dantès (the titular Count) being betrayed by his friend, Fernand Mondego, and his imprisonment and eventual escape from the dreaded island prison of Chateau d’If. Although this is a period drama of a prison movie, Dante uses the classic POW method to get out: a tunnel under the wall. The movie was hailed by critics as a refreshing return to un-ironic adventure films, after an endless string of more self-aware movies like 1998’s The Man in the Iron Mask. It’s amazing that new audiences can still be introduced to one of the original prison break stories more than 150 years after it was created.