Besson's take on the Jeanne D'arc tale has aged well with an exceptionally produced epic that only falters in its final third even with an incredibly miscast Milla Jovovich in the title role. Battle sequences are exceptional. Interesting that original director Kathryn Bigelow left the project when producer Besson forced Jovovich to be cast.
"Besides, Besson is only one letter short of Bresson! He’s got the look, but he doesn’t have the ‘r.’" (rip rivette)
2nd half is way superior. The battle scenes dragged on and on and were so clumsily shot. You kind of needed them for the 2nd half however. They should have done a few more rewrites.
A stunning film, superficially. The design was lavish, with a wonderful juxtaposition of the regal and the filthy. The cinematography was a wild mixture of sweeping, artful moments and maniacal chaos. Jovovich's performance was heartbreaking and sincere. Unfortunately, the film's major downfall is its tone. A painfully annoying (and unpleasantly quirky) "realist" perspective to such a sacred story? Give me a break.
Just so uneven, which is sad cause it has some strong elements. But typical of Besson it has so much "style" with zero consistency
Some kind of bored flow but Jovovich gave a tough and interesting performance
It is far from Besson's best, but definitely not as bad as people claim it to be. It is a really underrated film and I have no idea why it is heavily criticized despite its flaws.
A talented collection of people trapped in a giant mess of emotions. This film is seriously just all over the place - there's no better way to phrase it.
No es de lo mejor de Besson, pero se deja ver, a pesar de los gritos de histerica de Milla Jovovich. Lo mejor: la presencia de Dustin Hoffman. Aparece solo 5 minutos, pero suficientes para robarse la pinche pelicula.