Man In The Iron Mask, The MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +3 1/2 Content: -1

The year is 1662 and Paris is ruled by a corrupt and evil King, Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio). The people are starving and wars are raging but Louis seems only concerned with himself and his women. The Queen Mother, Anne d'Autriche (Anne Parillaud) is powerless to effect any change and all the country seems doomed to continue on in peril, until Louis makes one fatal mistake. He sends Raoul, the son of former Musketeer Athos (John Malkovich), to the front lines of the war to be killed, so that he may take Raoul's fiancee as his mistress. Enraged over his son's death, Athos joins forces with his former musketeers: Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) and eventually D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne) to overtake the king and replace him with his twin brother, Philippe, who's been imprisoned in an iron mask to hide his identity. For the honor of a king and the destiny of a country, these musketeers are all for one and one for all.

Based on Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK is truly a swashbuckling, feel-good adventure. However, it is rated a strong PG-13 for violence, some sensuality and near nudity. Many times, King Louis is seen in bed with a woman. Sexual intercourse is implied many times as a fun, extracurricular activity with no responsibilities attached. Porthos says that it is his reason for living. And in one scene, he is seen with three women at the same time. In addition, there is near breast nudity and rear male nudity. Although there is only one profanity, there are six obscenities. Violence is held to the typical sword fights one might expect from a French Revolution film. Most of them are not bloody; however, there are a few scenes in which throats are slit and men are stabbed. And in one scene a woman hangs herself. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK would have been a great film without the obscenities and nudity. It's a shame Hollywood had to cast a shadow on a film that truly does show honor among men.

Preview Reviewer: Sherry Oswald
Distributor: MGM/UA Dist., 2500 Broadway St., Santa Monica, CA 90404-3061