If you lost your life, your love and your freedom because of a lie, would you simply move on or vow revenge? That is the question asked in Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo," a story about a man who went to the greatest lengths possible to hurt the one man who destroyed his life... his best friend.
Jim Caviezel ("Frequency," "Angel Eyes") stars as Edmond Dantes, a young sailor who seems to have it all. However, everything he's ever held close to him-- his family, his ship, even his fiancée-- is suddenly taken away when he is framed by his best friend (Guy Pearce) for a crime he knew nothing of.
While spending 13 years on the island prison of Chateau D'If, Edmond's peaceful nature is replaced by the never-ending thought of vengeance against those who betrayed him. With the help of another inmate (Richard Harris), Edmond spends day and night educating himself on fencing, sword fighting and anything else that could help him get his revenge upon his escape from the prison.
Once he breaks out of the Chateau D'If, Edmond uses a map that was given to him to search for a long lost treasure-- a treasure that he uses to transform himself into the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo. Now, with more money than everyone else in the French nobility, Edmond has the power to get his long-awaited vengeance and end the lives of those who enslaved him. But will his revenge really set him free?
For a film as predictable as "The Count of Monte Cristo" to succeed, it needs a great hero and an even better villain. Luckily for Touchstone Pictures, the film has just that. Caviezel has all the charm, built-up anger and intelligence audiences will need to support his character in his quest for vengeance without ever once questioning his motives. Caviezel's believability as Edmond Dantes though relies greatly on the performance given by Guy Pearce, who shows the world once again what a talented and under-rated actor he is.
Pearce is positively evil as Fernand, Edmond's best friend who would rather see Edmond imprisoned than live a better life than him. Very few Hollywood villains successfully manage to get underneath the audiences' skin, but since Pearce plays the role with absolutely no emotion outside hate and jealousy, he makes it all the more easy for viewers to want his character dead. Audiences will never stop to question if his character's death is the true way to resolve the issues at hand-- instead, they will only be counting down the minutes until Fernand's final breath.
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