No sure shot: 'The Duelist' is a good-looking mess

• The film was shot in IMAX, explaining the emphasis on visuals
• The story doesn't stand up to the images, which are overstuffed and entertaining
• Critic's rating: 2.5 stars

The title character in “The Duelist” claims, repeatedly, that he doesn’t much like dueling.

Then he will kill someone in a duel. Often. Unusually often. Curiously often. It’s like, that’s all he does. There’s something to be said for single-minded purpose, but this is a little much, particularly in a profession that would suggest a short career.

Aleksey Mizgirev’s film is set in 19th century Russia, a time in which, we learn, duels among noblemen were frequent. And if you didn’t want to fight the duel yourself, you could get someone to do it for you.

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Enter Yakovlev (Pyotr Fyodorov), a former army officer who makes a living either fighting duels against gentlemen he’s ticked off or fighting them for some other sap. He’s got a go-between (Martin Wuttke) who sets things up for him and profits off his astonishing skill as a marksman. (Yakovlev supplements his income with sharpshooting displays, many of which include the use of ricochets, some of which knock a cup off his head, for instance.)

There’s a reason why dark and brooding Yakovlev does what he does, of course, and why he wears nothing but black (except for the occasional dark metallic gray) and looks like an unhappy Colin Farrell (an unhappier Colin Farrell, maybe?). It has to do with his past, which involves, but is not limited to, revenge, defaming, caning, Aleut tribesmen, identity changes and a slimy fellow named Count Beklemishev (Vladimir Mashkov), who is in debt and has romantic designs on Marfa Tuchkova (Yuliya Khlynina).

She’s rich, which explains why Beklemishev (whose name is uttered like an especially satisfying profanity by everyone who comes into contact with him) wants to marry her. He might also actually love her, something that the Grand Duchess Aleksandra (Franziska Petri), with whom Beklemishev also is carrying on, suspects.

It’s all intertwined and convoluted and hard to follow, but that doesn’t really matter — the plot machinations exist to get us to another duel. They’re all tricked out — unlike the Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr exercises we’re used to. A particularly idiotic way entails a guy putting a bullet in one of two guns, then one of the duelists chooses and they hold the guns to each other's head and fire.

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Yakovlev has an endless supply of variations, handy since he seems to fight a duel every other day or so. There is the suggestion that he is protected by his time with the Aleuts, but it seems more likely his depression blankets him so completely that his genuine disinterest in whether he lives or dies shields him.

So why watch? Because it’s so ridiculously overstuffed it’s kind of fun. That extends to, or perhaps begins with, the look of the film. It’s rich, overripe, yet still kind of seedy. Lots of peeling paint and rain, rain, rain. The views of Russia are fascinating, though the thought of living in such a place at such a time is not exactly appealing, unless you were a good shot.

One technical note: The film was shot in IMAX format, meant for a 40-foot screen.

I watched it on a computer.

That said, the look of the movie is still the most appealing thing about it. Whether you watch a film on a giant screen or an iPhone, the format doesn’t untangle messy plot threads. “The Duelist” looks good no matter how you watch it. Just don’t take the story too seriously while you’re watching.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. Twitter: @goodyk.

'The Duelist' 2.5 stars

Director: Aleksey Mizgirev.

Cast: Pyotr Fyodorov, Martin Wuttke, Yuliya Khlynina.

Rating: R for strong violence and some sexuality/nudity.

Note: At Harkins Camelview at Fashion Square.

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