Definitely a step up from the 2002 version! Tho there’s still no beating Guy Pearce’s Fernand. I think the struggle with novels of this size is the need to balance essential plot with the needed details and texture that make them timeless. Keeping the story (slightly) under three hours requires certain compromises of the best impulses of adaptation, like the dynamic with Abbé Faria and the mentorship of Andrea, favoring hitting story beats over feeling them.

Thankfully, what this version understands is the soul of the story is the struggle for Edmond’s, a severely underdeveloped facet of Jim Caviezel’s workmanlike interpretation. The final confrontations with Mercédès and Haydée are all that they should be, as are the bizarre group hangs with Messrs. Villefort, Danglars, and Morcerf. Definitely recommend!