Alatriste(Mortensen) is a Spanish mercenary in the country's 17th century imperial wars. There are various on-going rivalries, love affairs and the like, though you'd be forgiven for having trouble following it all(even knowing the historical background for the events... heck, a bunch of it doesn't even get closure). While I haven't read the novels this is an adaptation of, I understand that this takes several of them and attempts to squeeze everything therein into one movie(as has been done with similarly poor results before and since... rather than accepting length differences and changing things to keep the core themes intact). So the 139 minutes of this(with credits... without, it's 131) seems as though it should be significantly longer, like a mini-series, and it feels unsatisfying, not to mention it taking its sweet time(and not enough of that is spent letting us connect with the characters, understanding their motivations, sharing their passions... ultimately it becomes boring on account of that). With that said, it has high production values all around. Locations, costumes, props... showing the dichotomy between the nobility(clean, prettied up) and the soldiers(filthy, in worn-out clothes). The action scenes(fencing and shooting, mostly) are tense and fast-paced, taking place in diverse places(on a ship, in a city, etc.) with a richness of detail, the one unrealistic one being thrown daggers penetrating clothing and flesh with ease. Battles are chaotic(Yanes can be counted among the numerous directors have taken lessons from Saving Private Ryan), brutal, bloody, disturbing, gripping(one sequence is genuinely claustrophobic, and their atmosphere is always suffocating) and often up close and personal. The DVD comes with trailers for this, 2:37, Alpha Dog, Lonely Hearts, Ask the Dust, Bobby and The Wicker Man. There is a some sexuality and a little topless nudity in this. I recommend this to fans of authentic war-dramas. 6/10
