DiCaprio's reign falters in 'Man'

"I'm the king of the world!" Yes, lovable Leonardo DiCaprio gets his "Titanic" wish fulfilled when he gets to play the king of France in "The Man In The Iron Mask," a disappointing movie that is unable to take advantage of its stellar cast.

DiCaprio plays two roles in the picture: Louis XIV, who was king during the late 1600's, and Phillippe, Louis' twin brother.

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Louis, a young and arrogant ruler who is doted on by all who surround him, isn't much of a stretch for DiCaprio. He prances around his palace, giving orders to all those who surround him and lets out an occasional screech when someone gets out of line. The people in his city are starving, yet all he remains interested in is who will be the next maiden to slip into his bed. Sound like a good king?

A group of retired musketeers who have moved onto other things don't think so and decide to take action against the ruler. Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) and Athos (John Malkovich) know of the man in the iron mask and decide that revealing his identity could be what is needed to bring down the evil king.

Irons does an acceptable job as the ringleader of the group but never has any memorable scenes. Depardieu is by far the weakest link among the musketeers; his over-the-top acting style along with his character's raunchy talk give the already boring movie an additional burst of dullness. Malkovich stands out among the three, turning in his usual intense and commanding performance.

The only other notable actor in the film is Gabriel Byrne as d'Artagnan, the Captain of the Musketeers and advise to the king. Throughout the film, this character is torn between his allegiance to the cruel king and his fellow musketeers.

Courtesy of United Artists Leonardo DiCaprio is the king of the world - or at least France - in "The Man in the Iron Mask."

The plot is fairly simple except for a few curves involving the parental relationships between several of the characters. Unfortunately, the movie's biggest twist, which deals with the identity of the character behind the iron mask, has been made clear through the press and advertising surrounding the film.

The screenplay is very weak and includes such duds as "I wear the mask, it does not wear me." It's also very hard to have any feelings for or relate to any of the characters due to poor development.

"The Man In The Iron Mask" marks the directing debut of Randall Wallace, who also wrote the script. Although he struggles with the characters, Wallace includes some impressive shots and sequences in the film. He does a good job playing with the mask and incorporates different shots from the point of view of the character who wears it. The sword fights are exciting and interesting to watch, as is the scene where the old musketeers charge the king and the new musketeers.

Overall, "The Man In The Iron Mask" is way too long and not worth seeing unless you are a colossal fan of DiCaprio.

It is a tiresome two hours and 10 minutes that seem to drag on forever. A good 15 minutes could have been trimmed with little lost in terms of the story. Several times near the conclusion, the end appears to be in sight, only to have the drama turn around and keep on going.

Although the main reason that "The Man In The Iron Mask" is getting so much attention is the recent christening of DiCaprio as the new prince of Hollywood, the movie will hardly leave you chanting, "Long Live King Leo!"

03-16-98