HOW CAN you beat a bit of good old fashioned swashbuckling action?

You can't, and The Count of Monte Cristo proves it. Starring Guy Pearce as the double-crossing Fernand Mondego, the sultry Dagmara Dominczyk as Mercedes and Jim Caviezel as the somewhat naive Edmond Dantes, later the Count, this film is a solid remake of an old classic.

The plot is straight forward love, jealousy and revenge.

The trusting Edmond is sent to the island prison Chateau D'If by his supposed best friend, leaving his fianc Mercedes devastated and vulnerable.

After 13 years in a dark, damp cell with regular and damaging beatings, Edmond escapes through the help of his companion Abbe Faria, played by the distinguished Richard Harris.

He returns home to Versailles to find his fianc married and unhappy, Fernand miserably in debt and ill, and plots to avenge the act that left his life in tatters.

With the discovery of wealth beyond his wildest hopes, Edmond has to reconcile his desire for revenge and destruction with the love he still has for Mercedes.

Does he overcome the urge to destroy their lives, or does he live happily ever after? Buy the DVD and find out.