Well well. What can I say?
Overseen-before-historical-movie-plot-from-beggining-to-end.
Always a great acting on Viggo's part, though. And superb images that look like some famous paintings by Vermeer or De la Tour sometimes.
But not enough for ... (read more) Well well. What can I say?
Overseen-before-historical-movie-plot-from-beggining-to-end.
Always a great acting on Viggo's part, though. And superb images that look like some famous paintings by Vermeer or De la Tour sometimes.
But not enough for two stars...
That's it!

"Alatriste" is an adaptation of the "Captain Alatriste" series of historical fiction adventure novels by Arturo Perez-Reverte - and I do mean it's an adaptation of the series, as the film tries to cram the entire series into a single movie. The film... (read more) "Alatriste" is an adaptation of the "Captain Alatriste" series of historical fiction adventure novels by Arturo Perez-Reverte - and I do mean it's an adaptation of the series, as the film tries to cram the entire series into a single movie. The film throws together scenes from all the books in the series (the first three of which I've read, the rest of which haven't been translated into English yet), and it really doesn't work. If you haven't read the books, you'll probably be lost, and if you have read them, you'll know how the story suffers from the way it was put together.

The film and the novels it's based on chronicle the adventures of "Captain" Diego Alatriste (Viggo Mortensen), a former Spanish soldier turned impoverished sword-for-hire in Madrid of the 1620s. Alatriste is the brooding, silent, haunted anti-hero, forced by poverty to rent out his swordsmanship for a few marviedos per job, and he has an unfortunate habit of getting mixed up in major scandals and dangerous games of intrigue. He makes a lot of dangerous enemies along the way, including a rival mercenary, a power-hungry bureaucrat, and the Spanish Inquisition (insert obligatory "Monty Python" reference here). Alatriste's ward, Inigo Balboa, the son of a fellow soldier killed in Flanders, records his adventures and even earns a nemesis of his own - the beautiful, manipulative, all-out evil Angelica de Alquezar, who's unique among archvillains of historical fiction in that she's 12 years old (then again, when I think of the 6th graders I used to teach, it's not so surprising).

I first heard of this movie completely by chance on kungfucinema.com, and I was excited about the re-teaming of Viggo Mortensen and swordfight choreographer Bob Anderson, who'd worked together on the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I'd hoped to see it three years ago at the Miami Film Festival, but I had a scheduling conflict at work. I've been waiting three years for it to be released on DVD before I lost patience and snagged it on eBay. From there, I got curious about the novels, and as I've said earlier, I've read the first three that have been published in English (the English translation of the fourth one is due for release in about a month).

Unfortunately, the film doesn't have any of the stuff that made the novels so interesting - none of the intrigue, none of the tension, none of the sardonic dialogue, and hardly any of the social commentary. The villains are horrifically shafted - Alatriste's arch-enemy, Fray Emilio Bocanegra of the Spanish Inquisition, is a creepy, malevolent fanatic whose mere presence should give you chills. In the movie, Bocanegra is painfully tepid and monotone, absent of everything that made him such a creepy bastard in the books. Same deal with Angelica de Alquezar, which is especially disappointing. Only Alatriste's rival mercenary, Gualterio Maltesta, comes across the way he does in the books, and he's a fun character to watch as to read about. I'm open to certain changes being made, but for f***'s sake, if you're going to change stuff about a character, don't scrap the stuff that's most important to that character! There are just certain things you don't do - you don't let Romeo and Juliet live, you don't make Holden Caufield well-adjusted and happy, you don't shut Deadpool's mouth, and you don't deprive creepy-ass villains of all the things that make them so creepy-ass!

I do have to give credit to Viggo Mortensen, who absolutely nailed the character of Alatriste, even though he's using the wrong dialect of Spanish in the film (so I've heard, anyway - I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference). His performance, strong throughout the film, is what helped keep me engaged and made it worth watching. The rest of the acting wasn't anything special. Also, the fight scenes, featuring sword fight choreography by the legendary Bob Anderson (who's responsible for the swordfights from "Star Wars: A New Hope," "The Princess Bride," "Highlander," "The Mask of Zorro," "The Lord of the Rings," and the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, among others) are pretty well done, if a bit short (then again, a real fight to the death wouldn't last all that long).

I'm not sorry I bought "Alatriste" or that I watched it, but it's nowhere near as good as it could have been. They should've done each book as it's own movie, or maybe just picked two novels to adapt instead of the entire fershlugginah series (man, can you imagine the fan outrage if they'd done that with "Harry Potter"?) So I can't really recommend this one, whether you're familiar with Alatriste or not. I do, however, recommend snagging the novels. They're very exciting and not at all what you'd expect from historical adventure fiction.

There are not many movies or characters in movies that I throw the "Badass" award to, but Captain Alatriste has most certainly earned my respect. The movie itself was pretty good, the only thing I didn't really enjoy was how it seemed to drag on tow... (read more) There are not many movies or characters in movies that I throw the "Badass" award to, but Captain Alatriste has most certainly earned my respect. The movie itself was pretty good, the only thing I didn't really enjoy was how it seemed to drag on towards the end, but, in relation to the whole, it's not such a big deal. The action was brutal, and didn't dress up the swordplay and battle with AMAZING choreography and stunts, and the performances by the cast were quite good. I'd recommend this movie to history fans, and people looking for a quality, engaging cinematic experience.

Exclenete interpetacion de Vigo Mortensen, quien una vez mas sorprende como actor al mostrar su perfecto espanol.

A Dane in Spain? Viggo Mortensen is perfect as the Spanish captain-turned-mercenary. Even though the movie is all in Spanish! There are some scenes that are like motional paintings! The one off is for the length of the movie and the pace of the story... (read more) A Dane in Spain? Viggo Mortensen is perfect as the Spanish captain-turned-mercenary. Even though the movie is all in Spanish! There are some scenes that are like motional paintings! The one off is for the length of the movie and the pace of the story.

A big budget Spanish movie about a spanish captain fighting for the Spanish Empire. The movie is long and slow, some good bits, not many. I liked the landscapes, and Viggo does his job, ...,. just a bit, if I only didn't speak spanish I would've lik... (read more) A big budget Spanish movie about a spanish captain fighting for the Spanish Empire. The movie is long and slow, some good bits, not many. I liked the landscapes, and Viggo does his job, ...,. just a bit, if I only didn't speak spanish I would've liked it. I had to mute my TV at some moments coz I couldn't stand his accent. It made the whole story not-believable.
I don't understand why they chose Viggo for this role. They could've chosen someone like Eduardo Noriega, he would've been cheaper! and with no significant change in the quality of the movie.

It looks gorgeous, but they tried to pack the whole series into one movie, and the story-telling suffers as a result.