This has to be one of the worst book adaptations I have ever seen. I've read the book about 5 years before I watched the movie and I must say that the book is FANTASTIC, compared to this hogwash. Although I forgot most of the characters' names and parts of the plot, I still recognized a crappy scaled down movie. It's simplified in the usual American style. I apologize to the literate part of Americans who have read the novel which is probably the most popular adventure novel in history.
The plot doesn't even match the book. The only true part of the movie is the prison If sequence, and that's also changed, even though that part of the novel piles up to maybe 100 pages! I possibly exaggerated, but since the whole novel is 1000-1300 (depends on the publisher) that's almost a tiny part of the novel, and they had the nerve not get it right! The other aspects of this novel-to-movie adaptation gone horribly wrong are as follows. Most important characters are either gone or changed altogether. Benedetto, Caderousse, Bertuccio, Haydée, Ali, Baptistin are all missing from the movie, with many more to follow. 99% of the script doesn't have anything to do with the plot of the book. Even the fates of Mondego, Danglars and Villefort have been altered. Mondego doesn't commit suicide, Villefort doesn't go to a mental asylum and, most importantly, Danglars isn't forgiven by Dantes.
I recommend the mini-series with Gerard Depardieu but it also has changes, but not so much as this brain dead movie. The only complaint about the series, as well as the movie, is the change in the end of the story. Originally Dantes continues his life with Haydee NOT with Mercedes as is depicted in every adaptation.
All in all, this is a very f#$#*ed up movie. Don't watch it! READ THE BOOK!
The plot doesn't even match the book. The only true part of the movie is the prison If sequence, and that's also changed, even though that part of the novel piles up to maybe 100 pages! I possibly exaggerated, but since the whole novel is 1000-1300 (depends on the publisher) that's almost a tiny part of the novel, and they had the nerve not get it right! The other aspects of this novel-to-movie adaptation gone horribly wrong are as follows. Most important characters are either gone or changed altogether. Benedetto, Caderousse, Bertuccio, Haydée, Ali, Baptistin are all missing from the movie, with many more to follow. 99% of the script doesn't have anything to do with the plot of the book. Even the fates of Mondego, Danglars and Villefort have been altered. Mondego doesn't commit suicide, Villefort doesn't go to a mental asylum and, most importantly, Danglars isn't forgiven by Dantes.
I recommend the mini-series with Gerard Depardieu but it also has changes, but not so much as this brain dead movie. The only complaint about the series, as well as the movie, is the change in the end of the story. Originally Dantes continues his life with Haydee NOT with Mercedes as is depicted in every adaptation.
All in all, this is a very f#$#*ed up movie. Don't watch it! READ THE BOOK!