Rating: 
Summary: A Conflagration
Review: Having been somewhat fascinated by the life of Joan of Arc, and entertained by the French flair of Director Luc Besson's movies, it pains me to say that my disappointment in THE MESSENGER is most profound. Truly, with such a promising opening scene and more than a couple of excellent actors at its disposal - not to mention a mythical and supernatural aura intertwined with an amazing history - one would expect, even at the very least, a little glimmer of brilliance.Yet, apparently, it never was meant to be. However, I must say, the movie opens promisingly enough: There's the pious child, Joan d'Arc, living her bright yet humble life in the 15th century French countryside. - She is portrayed at once as being extraordinarily blessed and preternaturally enlightened, by Heaven. There's Music of Angels singing ecstatic praise, Visions of Divine Power moving nature around her, and Voices of "Him." (Be it Deity, Angel, Archangel, or perhaps her own Subconscious Soul? I cannot tell...) - All so enticing and gravitating her toward Heavenly bliss. Yet it is within minutes of these glorious opening scenes that everything takes a very dark turn. Suddenly, the child Joan sees the storm clouds culminate as the wolves and the English Army thunder in. The sight of this is quite ominous -- not only for the child Joan, but for the entire course of the movie as well. It's a shame - because, from here, THE MESSENGER actually could very well have become a movie of remarkable depth, voice and vision. Instead, the whole thing engulfs itself in blustering failures - its own annihilation ignited with the first sight of Milla Jovovich as Joan, the peasant girl, suddenly all grown up. She makes her first appearance having somehow made her way to the castle of Chinon with a message to the Dauphin Charles VII, France's heir to the crown. The movie offers no explanation as to how this unknown teenage girl had come to be known as the "Maid of Lorraine," nor of how she had made her way into the French Court. Apart from various transitional errors and a stunning lack of continuity, this picture further bears the awesome burden of poor casting and an even poorer script. John Malkovich (Dauphin Charles VII) did a fine enough job of it - however, the script, relative to the role, was not compatible with his talents - and he was very blatantly miscast. As for Milla Jovovich: Well, I cannot say much about that folly, actually, without blasting away all credibility to her as an actress. Truly, that's something I really do not wish to do. Really, I must say in her defense that it seems she was obliged to make do with a script that made her sound like a borderline psychotic and rebellious adolescent somewhat of the present-day variety. It's impossible to buy the possibility that anyone in the French Army would even consider following her lead. Sadly enough, the only reason I halfway speak in her defense is that she seemed to speak her lines as if she hated every single word of them - and her every look seemed to disdain the movie. OK - Well, regardless, even for that, I guess I cannot in my heart of hearts give her any credit as an actress. Finally, I must give no insignificant amount of credit to Dustin Hoffman (the Voice), Faye Dunaway (Mother-In-Law to the Dauphin, Princess d'Aragon), and Timothy West (Pierre Cauchon - a prominent figure in Joan's final trial) for making the most of a flippant and shallow script. Finally, all the more I can say about this movie is that it could have been great, with only a bit more insight. It's a shame that it fell the other way....
Rating: 
Summary: Is Milla Jovovich close to being 19?
Review: Luc Besson is one of the best...but this movie missed it. It is beautiful to look at, the supporting cast is excellent, the story is told nicely, so I give it three stars....however Milla Jovovich was just too old to play this girl. You can SEE her trying, at times, to act as a girl, but it feels played. Many of my male friends love her...looks at least, but she was better cast in the 5th Element. I wouldn't watch it again and it is not going to be added to my Besson collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Dishonors St. Joan of Arc's Memory
Review: This movie was horrible! First of all, it was not even historically accurate--there were more glaring innaccuracies and downright fabrications spewed forth in this movie than in a televised political debate. Joan of Arc was basically portrayed as a delusional, over-intense, angry girl who threw tantrums when things didn't go her way. Joan of Arc's heroic accomplishments are overshadowed in this movie. Her actions which helped free the France from English control are cast in a cynical light--that she was mostly motivated by a desire for revenge. There is no mention of what a good, loving, unselfish person she was--during her trials her friends and those who knew her testified how that she was all of these things. If you are looking for a sensational piece of fluff that reveals nothing about St. Joan of Arc, then watch this movie. If you want to find out more about the real St. Joan of Arc's life and accomplishments, look elsewhere. If you want to watch a much better movie about Joan of Arc, check out the version starring Leelee Sobieski.
Rating:
Summary: Get Duguay's epic instead.
Review: The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (Luc Besson, 1999) As the final credits rolled, I found myself asking one thing many times: what in the world was (fill in the actor, director, etc.) thinking? Besson, who gave us such amusing and occasionally brilliant fare as Leon and Nikita, went way off the deep end. Milla Jovovich, who worked so well with Besson in The Fifth Element, delivers every line as if she's being forced to overact. John Malkovich is about as French as a quesadilla. Etc. One wonders why this got a big-screen release and Christian Duguay's incredibly superior three-hour Joan of Arc, release the same year, got relegated to TV miniseries status. Mother always said that if you can't say anything good, then shut up. So I'll just say that if you're looking for a modern retelling of the tale of St. Joan, Duguay's version is available on DVD. Rent it. Forget this exists. * ½ (only because Dustin Hoffman actually gives a halfway decent performance; too bad he's only got about ten minutes of screen time.)
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Film!
Review: I liked this film a lot, I watched it over and over again when I rented it. I found myself the next day at the video store buying it on DVD. I really liked how accurate Luc Besson made it. Almost all of the guys in the movie were REAL. Like Dunois, Tourmelle (spelling?), Cauchon, and the Duke of Alencon. I agree with one of the customer reviewers about liking this film more than BRAVEHEART, because I did too! I thought that Milla Jovovich was perfect for this role and it definetly was not a mistake to cast her. The battles were amazing. I mean, name another director who shot battle scenes that close before. And name another director who would take the camera, himself, and run through fire. Luc Besson is the man!
Rating:
Summary: Focus on battle scenes undermines story of Joan
Review: Messenger:The Story of Joan of Arc is at times brilliant and at other times chaotic. In a few scenes it is brilliant and chaotic at the same time. How can this be, you ask? It's because it was made by the brilliant but messy French director, Luc Besson. Besson did two of my favorite pop culture movies, La femme Nikita and The Fifth Element. I admired both of these for the same reasons. Both are high-tech, fast-paced visualizations of absurd stories. They are triumphs of style over substance. Nikita is about a young female criminal who is coerced by the French equivalent of the CIA into becoming an assassin. The Fifth Element is a bizarre science fiction story set in the future. In it, Bruce Willis, aided by a truly weird alien girl, must keep the evilest force in the universe from destroying the human race. I think the reason that Messenger is a weaker film is that Besson's unique style does not work well when he deals with a story set six hundred years in the past. You would think that this filming of the Joan of Arc story would be great because this is a French film with several American stars in the cast. [Don't panic! It's in English.] But, beyond Besson's limitations are the limitations of the story itself, which is shrouded in mystery. In the early 15th Century, a young French peasant girl named Joan had visions that she claimed told her she was to lead an Army that would free her people from English rule. The army was raised by the dauphin, the English retreated, and the dauphin became Charles VII, King of France. Afterwards, Joan's reward was to be tried as a heretic and then burned at the stake. This much seems to be accepted by historians. Whether or not Joan actually lead the army is hotly debated. Who actually tried Joan is also not known for sure. Some think it was the English, others think it was the Catholic church. We do not even know the exact nature of the charges against her. We cannot say for sure what events caused the poor girl to go from heroine to martyr. She was basically forgotten about until the 19th Century, when her story was used as a political tool to advance the cause of French nationalism. Five hundred years after her death, the Church declared her to be a Saint. I tell you all this history because it is my opinion that a satisfactory movie about her will never be made, because it is impossible to tell the story in a way that will please everyone. That leaves us to deal with the successes and failures of The Messenger on a purely cinematic basis. Its strong points include its visual richness. The feel of the period is lovingly rendered. The script adroitly sidesteps the issue of Joan's visions. While it does not deny that her messages may have come from God, it also suggests the possibility that she was simply delusional. It concludes that, whatever the source of her messages, the savageness of her trial made even her doubt her sources. One of the movie's weaknesses lays in casting Milla Jovovich as Joan. I have admired her work in other films, but, like the director, she is not the right choice for a historical epic. The biggest mistake, however, was made in choosing to show in detail several gruesome battles. These occupy perhaps a third of the movie's two and one half hours running time. They become redundant and detract from the more interesting story of Joan - her childhood, her visions, her dealing with royal powers, her interactions with the all-male troops, and her eventual and tragic fall from grace. The result is that Messenger is an interesting movie, but hardly a great one.
Rating:
Summary: What do reviewers know anyway?
Review: This is a great film. I am reviewing it because I was taken a back by the fact it had not recieved a 5 star rating. I think Luc Besson is one of the best living international directors. While not entirely "hollywood," his style is approachable by even the most dense popcorn munching, soda guzzling fan of Hollywood, and still his films have a lyrical and often subtle quality which makes for great filmaking. While my favorite film of his is Leon (The Professional), this is my second favorite film of his. Many of the people I saw this film with in the theatre were turned off by its almost macabre sense of the spirit realm. I think Besson has found a unique vision for the telling of this historical story. I think he risks offending people who are unwilling to explore the possibility of human qualities in saints and religious heros. In this telling one is left to wonder if Joan was acting on the voice of God, or merely following the dictates of vain imaginations. It is a beautiful and lyrical film, which seems a virtual impossibilty due to its extremely graphic depiction of violent warware, but somehow Besson manages to give even the scenes of carnage a lyrical mystical quality. The only thing which risks destroying the film is the casting of Dustin Hoffman as the voice of conscious. When i realised it was him, i was pulled right out of the movie, which was sad because I was so happily wrapt in the world Besson had created. This sad fact is why I think this film is very good (considering the multitude of shallow triteness coming out of Hollywood) but not Besson's best. Would I recommend someone buy this film? A heartfelt yes! On a technical note, the DVD encoding is very good. And if you have a decent 5.1 surround system, the audio is extremely engaging.
Rating:
Summary: it rocks!
Review: My little brother is obsessed with joan of arc, and so we have all these historical movies on our bookshelf. But one day, i was at blockbuster, and i notice that they have a new movie out that tells the story of joan of arc. I bring it home, and me and my family sit down and watch it. OMG... we loved it so much we bought it. Gosh it does rock!
Rating:
Summary: Drama At It's Best
Review: Of course, the majority of critics rated this movie low because of "historical innaccuracy". But for WHAT this movie represented: both sides to an internal conflict inside Joan of Arc, it was excellent.
Dustin Hoffman plays Joan of Arc's "Conscience", making her question whether she is defeating the English (Joan is French, BTW) by will of God, or by will of herself. She struggles, almost, to the edge of insanity. This movie makes you wonder whether Joan's visions or "path" were from God, or whether they simply had nothing to do God, but just her wanting to save her country. Either way, at the end of the movie, you can look at it both ways. This is one of the few movies that can do that, and leave you thinking about "spirituality". A die-hard Christian would probably not like this, because it would leave them questioning their OWN very strong beliefs that Joan's visions were from God.
Complicated as my review sounds, the movie is much more simple. It's a beautiful piece of work -- if you are an open-minded person, who will think about BOTH possibilities. If you are the type to nag and not pay attention to the subtleties and hints in her visions, you probably will not like this movie.
I gave it a "5" -- not for historical accuracy, but for daring to question the strong beliefs held by SO MANY, stating the possibility that Joan was only a Messenger of her heart, not of God.
Rating:
Summary: Medieval Masterpiece
Review: The people who have rated this movie must of lost their heads, this movie is one of the greatest I've ever seen. I loved the battle at Orleons! Great blood dispurtion hehe. The storyline was strange dealing with spiritual and scentimatic type of theme. It might of drew me off the story when her wierd daydreams overcame my tv set. But overall a realy dramatic preformance showing that the greater good of heroism overcomes the cruelty of medieval Europe. I do admit watching Joan lead the battles made me feel as if I were there fighting along side the French warriors!
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