1815, France. Just as sailor Edmond Dantes (Pierre Niney) believes his life has been blessed it is suddenly torn from him setting the scene for the greatest tale of revenge ever recorded.  

Alexandre Dumas second most famous story after The Three Muskateers is one of the most enjoyable and exciting books I personally have ever read. So I found myself pleasantly surprised to see a new adaptation of this master work arriving into cinemas. 

Following the success of the rather good adaptations of The Three Musketeers last year Pathe Cinema asked writers Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patelliere to take on writing and directing duties of Dumas other famous story and whilst my bias is perhaps showing they have achieved a rather spectacular outcome. 

The Count of Monte Cristo is a lavish 178 minute romp that seems to fly past. The story is tweaked in minor ways to bring it up to date with modern sensibilities whilst maintaining its core elements. The acting is superb. The costumes, locations and sets look as expensive as they should and are perfectly themed. But most of all the idea of how revenge can be all consuming and that justice just out of reach is expertly played out. 

The plot for those unfamiliar is that Dantes is a poor sailor who has to keep his love for the more noble Mercedes (Anais Demoustier) secret. That is until his bravery and dedication as a sailor results in him receiving a promotion to Captain. The result is that he can then propose and marry his love. But of course there are men jealous of his new status and those that covet his wife to be who plot together and accuse Dantes of being a sympathiser for Napoleon. The result is him spending years of his life in prison at the Chateau d’if. But it is within those walls that he meets the mysterious Faria who teaches him everything he knows and bequeaths him a fortune. A fortune that Dantes used to become the Count of Monte Cristo and take his revenge. 

Pierre Niney is simply superb as Dantes and The Count in his many guises and as with last year’s Musketeers films this is now the new gold standard for the Count of Monte Cristo story. 

You can check out my reviews of the Musketeers movies here: 

• The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023)
• The Three Musketeers: Milady (2023)