--- title: "The Man in the Iron Mask: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-man-in-the-iron-mask/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-man-in-the-iron-mask" critics_score: 47 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Man in the Iron Mask (1998): what the critics said Critics' score 47 from 9 reviews: 3 positive, 1 mixed, 5 negative. The reviews lean negative, with five of the nine unfavourable, though almost every critic finds something to enjoy. Praise clusters on the cast, particularly the veteran actors playing the ageing Musketeers, and on the costumes and sets, which Empire says linger in the memory. Gabriel Byrne is picked out by RogerEbert.com as the most charismatic of the company. DiCaprio’s double performance divides the critics more than anything else: Variety and Collider call it the film’s strongest asset, while Time Out finds him miscast as the adult king. The reservations cluster on tone and script. Several critics complain that the film cannot decide whether it is a tragedy, a farce or a romance, and the dialogue is repeatedly called wooden or worse. Depardieu draws unkind notices for overacting. The spread is wide, and it splits along time: the 1998 reviews are mostly cold, while later reappraisals from /Film and Collider defend it as silly but likeable entertainment. ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 March 1998. DiCaprio gives a wonderful double performance as the ruthless king and his sensitive brother in this sober, serious-minded costumer with an involving narrative and magnetic cast. It falls short on boisterous excitement due to mundane action but offers agreeable middle-of-the-road entertainment. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/the-man-in-the-iron-mask-3-1200453156/) ## Empire — Caroline Westbrook Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2013. Wallace delivers a flawed but fun adaptation of the Dumas tale, providing pacy swordplay and sumptuous costumes and sets that linger in the memory. It is consistently entertaining but badly let down by dialogue bordering on the moronic. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/man-iron-mask-review/) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. The critic finds the film uneven due to inconsistent tone and DiCaprio's miscasting as the adult king, though the supporting Musketeers are better, with Depardieu overacting. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-man-in-the-iron-mask) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 1998. The film swashes until it buckles under too many disparate elements—swordplay, tragedy, slapstick, and romance—without a consistent style or unifying tone beyond crude humor. It has energy and star power but more spectacle than imagination or sense. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-13-ca-28293-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 1998. The film is a loosely adapted costume swashbuckler that takes too long to set up its plot and lacks focus, though it becomes modestly interesting once the central substitution scheme is underway. Gabriel Byrne stands out with the most charisma among the strong cast. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-man-in-the-iron-mask-1998) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 1998. DiCaprio delivers dual roles as a spoiled, vain king and his noble twin in an amusingly ludicrous update of the Dumas tale with a 1990s spin. The film trades classic inspiration for coarse, modern blockbuster elements and wooden dialogue. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/13/movies/film-review-l-etat-it-s-dicaprio-c-est-le-brat-king.html) ## Collider Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 27 June 2024. The film is uneven with pacing issues and a melodramatic script, but DiCaprio delivers a strong dual performance that elevates it. It stands as one of the funnest and most entertaining swashbuckling adventures of its era despite not being a critical favorite. [Read the review](https://collider.com/leonardo-dicaprio-man-in-the-iron-mask/) ## /Film Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 February 2026. The piece defends the film against its original poor critical reception, calling it a silly but enjoyable swashbuckler buoyed by its strong cast of veteran actors as the aging Musketeers. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/2091586/leonardo-dicaprio-historical-epic-the-man-in-the-iron-mask-streaming-prime-video/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 2001. The critic finds the film a clumsy, clichéd swashbuckler that borrows poorly from better predecessors and wastes its cast. Depardieu is singled out as especially embarrassed by the material. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-man-in-the-iron-mask-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-man-in-the-iron-mask.md