REVIEWS

"THE MESSENGER: THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC"

"The Professional" was my introduction to the work of director Luc Besson. That movie, (the director's cut, in particular) is an incredible work of art that I consider one of my favorites of all-time. It was also the first feature film for the very young Natalie Portman, who gave a career-making performance. I rented "La Femme Nikita" just because I wanted to see something else by Luc Besson. Though it wasn't as good as "The Professional," I liked it a lot (much more than "Point of No Return," the American remake). When he made "The Fifth Element," he casted the beautiful Milla Jovovich in a key role, and I thought she was wonderful. As for the movie, again, it couldn't match "The Professional," but what a spectacle it was! It wasn't for everyone, but I certainly got a kick out of it! When I heard that Luc Besson was gonna make a movie based on Joan of Arc, I was skeptical, but I was still looking forward to seeing it. I heard that he was gonna cast Milla Jovovich in it, and though I was happy that Milla Jovovich was gonna be in it, casting her as Joan herself didn't seem right. No matter, I really wanted to see this movie! Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed.

"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" has some treats for the eyes, but I can't say that for the length of the movie, I enjoyed it. I mean, I know that it's nitpicky for me to say this, but everyone had a different accent, even if they were from the same country! Also, a lot of what's in the movie is very hard to swallow. I know about "suspension of disbelief," and I'm very open to it, but sometimes, I simply can't do it.

As for Milla Jovovich, she's very good... I think. I mean, it's obvious that she has talent, but the performance is so frenetic, it's hard to tell if she's going overboard or simply playing the role of a psycho. Is Luc Besson trying to say that Joan of Arc was a lunatic? Maybe. During some scenes, she looked like a wild-eyed psychotic.

The script was by Luc Besson and Andrew Birkin ("The Name of the Rose" and "The Final Conflict: Omen III"), and I'm not really quite sure of what message they're trying to get across. Maybe I just missed something, I dunno.

Luc Besson is a great director, and he's entitled to go too far once or twice. He just needed to pull the reigns or something. Or maybe he did exactly what he intended to do. My God, this movie truly is an enigma. Check it out. Even if you don't like it, you'll have plenty to look at.

Scale of 1-10: 6