Common Sense Media Review
Enjoyable swashbuckler for kids who can handle the action.
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 9 parent reviews
Based on 15 kid reviews
Kids say the movie, while entertaining and action-packed, significantly deviates from the book, with many reviewers advocating for the original as the better medium. They mention themes of revenge and violence, including some mild profanity and questionable morals, but still find the film enjoyable and recommend it for older kids, while emphasizing the importance of discussing these themes with younger audiences.
- original vs adaptation
- themes of revenge
- mild profanity
- suitable for older kids
- enjoyable but different
- moral discussions recommended
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In this adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel, James Caviezel plays Edmund Dantes, an honest sailor who has a devoted girlfriend named Mercedes (Dagmara Dominczyk) and a lifelong friend, Fernand. When he is promoted to captain and can afford to marry Mercedes, he thinks all of his dreams have come true. But Fernand, overcome with jealousy, betrays Edmund, and Villefort (James Frain), a corrupt magistrate, sentences him to life imprisonment. His friends and family are told that he has been executed. After years of brutal abuse, Edmund meets another prisoner (Richard Harris), who teaches him to read and swordfight. They plan an escape, but his friend dies, and Edmund escapes alone, with a map showing the location of a treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. He meets up with pirates and ultimately finds the treasure, enabling him to return in a new persona, the Count of Monte Cristo, where he will prove that "revenge is a dish that is best eaten cold."
Is It Any Good?
Two things that almost always capture our attention in movies are watching someone learning something and watching someone getting revenge; both are here in gratifying abundance. And once again, in this 15th filmed version of the Alexandre Dumas novel, this most resilient of stories has been made into another thoroughly enjoyable movie.
The script falters, with some clunky dialogue and a Hollywood-ized ending that Dumas fans will find overly convenient. But the performances (especially Pearce, descending from pettiness to decadence and complete corruption), the swordplay, the splendor, and the story, featuring what is probably literature's all-time best revenge fantasy are old-time-movie satisfying and lots of fun.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the amount of violence in this movie. Did it include the right amount to be a proper swashbuckler, or did it go overboard? How do you feel after watching action-oriented violence?
Are you familiar with the book that inspired this movie? Do you know of any other stories that were inspired by it?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 25, 2002
- On DVD or streaming : September 10, 2002
- Cast : Guy Pearce , James Caviezel , Luis Guzman
- Director : Kevin Reynolds
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Walt Disney Pictures
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 131 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violence, peril, and sexual situation
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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