This latest from Fifth Element director Luc Besson once again finds
Milla Jovovich intent on saving the world -- or France, anyway. What she can't
rescue, however, is this ill-conceived epic. As the 15th-century butt kicker
who led the French army to victory at Orléans, only to be later burned
at the stake, the armor-clad Jovovich does little more than scream at the
troops, her aquamarine eyes bulging as she waves her sword
around . . . and around . . . and around.
The rest of the turgid two hours alternates between limb-lopping bloodbaths
and regal subterfuge involving a twitchy John Malkovich and a headwear-bedecked
Faye Dunaway. The film is a mush of distracting inaccuracies and anachronisms:
the French speak unaccented English, the Brits are all cockneys, and when the
intrepid Joan starts talking about voices in her head, one of her compatriots
chuckles, "She's nuts!" And then, just as it seems the virgin warrior will
never take to the stake, Dustin Hoffman shuffles forth as the personification
of her conscience. Enduring this movie: now that's martyrdom.
--Alicia Potter
Full Length Reviews
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc 
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc 
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc 
Other Films by Luc Besson
The Fifth Element 
Film Vault Suggested Links
Richard III 
Hamlet 
Les Miserables 
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