Made a dent in my Tivo backlog of movies last night by knocking off The Count of Monte Cristo. I read the book last year, mostly on the T despite the sheer mass of the novel. It's an excellent story of the betrayal of a simple Marseilles sailor, leading to his 13 year imprisonment in the fearsome Chateau D'If while his fiancee Mercedes marries his betrayer and his enemies prosper. He finally escapes with the aid of a fellow inmate, who reveals to him the existence of a fantastic treasure on the rocky island of Monte Cristo. He uses his newfound wealth to assume a position of prominence in French society, while intricately and slowly exacting his vengeance on those who wronged him, ruining them emotionally, financially, and physically. Long recap? I haven't told you the half of it.

I suppose the movie was about as good a two hour rendition of the novel as one could make. Obviously, much of the detailed story had to be condensed or omitted in order to bring the film in on time. The depth of Edmond's plot for revenge is almost completely lost, reduced to several simple tricks in which he ruins his enemies. His quest for vengeance is cast as an evil desire that he most overcome, as opposed to its treatment in the book where it is balanced by his devotion and caring for those who stood by him and his family while he suffered in the Chateau. In the closing stages of the novel, these two efforts come into conflict and it is his compassion that wins out. While the film shares this sentiment, it's conclusion demonstrates the obvious inclusion of a Hollywood-style moral.

All in all not a bad film, but if you're really interested, make the 1100 page commitment and read the book.