I have to clarify that I am reviewing the 2024 English language 8-part miniseries that is currently showing on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. The Count of Monte Cristo is only one of four recent adaptations of the 1,000-page 1846 novel by Alexandre Dumas. Apparently. there was a real-life Edmond Dantes, but that where the connection ends. The other 2024 adaptation is a 3-hour movie in French that I have not seen. I kept getting this story mixed up with The Three Musketeers, and The Man in the Iron Mask. They were his other famous novels.

Now that I have clarified which adaptation that I saw, I can only offer my opinion as a non-professional reviewer. The mini-series got rave reviews as being the best adaptation of the book, but some took shots at the acting. I agree that it drags at times since I binged watched rather than spaced it out on a weekly viewing.

Yes, it is a costume piece of the period (mid 19th Century), but the sets, scenes, and costumes are all spectacular for a big-budget TV series. It was filmed in Malta, Paris, Turin, and Milan and the houses (interiors and exteriors) are more than grand. The opera scenes were filmed in old Paris Opera House. But it was the photography and settings that stuck me the most. It was the Riviera mixed with the Grand Canyon; it was that spectacular.

The plot is rather simple since the protagonist spends years seeking revenge for his 15-year false imprisonment. There is a large cast of characters so note the names and who is the mate of whom. Aside from the fact that the villains are all sleazebags, it isn’t clear why they hated him so much to hurt him so much. I guess they just wanted to get him out-of-the way for various reasons. Apparently, they also did a lot of other illegal and immoral things, so they do seem to be irredeemable.

Edmond Dantes (his real name) is addicted to rage for revenge, and with the help of an enormous fortune that he finds, he is able to manipulate circumstances to trap his three enemies into scandals. He seems to revel in excess and lives a lonely life.

The evil characters are really bad without any morals, so they seem to justify their punishment. But we must remember that the storyline was written almost 175 years ago. The ending, I guess, is deliberately vague. I assume that is because it varies from that of the book.

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