“The Count of Monte Cristo” offers a solid addition to the library of Dumas remakes. Faithful to the novel, the film revisits the adventure classic, a tale of a man’s fall, rise and revenge, with the acting acumen of today’s best up-and-comers. Well-choreographed swashbuckling ornaments add to an already gilded film.

Sailors and lifelong friends Edmund Dantes (Jim Caviezel) and Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce) find themselves on Elba – the Mediterranean island inhabited by an exiled Napoleon – with a superior officer in desperate need of medical attention. Bonaparte’s surgeon offers his assistance, with one caveat: In exchange for the outlaw doctor’s services, Dantes is asked to deliver a letter to the mainland, a criminal act of correspondence tantamount to treason. On his honor, Dantes agrees and sets off for home.

When he reaches home, Dantes is promoted for his loyalty, while Mondego is passed over. Envious of Dantes’ accolades and with a lustful eye for his beautiful fianc