Season of the Witch (Relativity Media)
Another Ho Hum Movie From Nicolas Cage
In past years I have enjoyed some of Nicolas Cages movies. I especially liked him in Face Off with John Travolta and in Con Air. Lately though his movies have all been a little trite so I wasnt really excited about seeing his latest Season of the Witch. The good thing is that after it was over I thought to myself that it wasnt as bad as I expected it to be. I guess that is a positive in some sense of the word.
In this film Cage plays Behmen, a Crusader, who is attacking the Infidels and destroying them on orders of the Church. Finally he and his buddy Felson (Ron Perlman) grow tired of the slaughter and desert. They are soon captured and offered a deal. If they will transport a witch to a place where some monks reside they will be forgiven of their desertion.
It is a six day trip and they are accompanied by Debelzaq (Stephen Campbell Moore) a priest, Hagamar (Stephen Graham) a guide, Eckhart (Urich Thomsen), a patron and Kay (Robert Sheehan) an aspiring knight. The girl/witch (Claire Foy) is in an enclosed wagon where she can be watched and guarded.
It is an arduous trip and there are many mishaps along the way. The fun of the film is in watching to see who survives the adventure and who doesnt. Isnt that always the way You have the wild animals in the forest, the rotting bridge between the mountains, and the distrust growing between the members of the merry band.
Cage and Perlman make a droll and comic duo, swapping insults and one liners between them. In this way they make the movie better than it otherwise would have been but some of the comments are anachronistic. Still if it gets a laugh it gets a laugh.
The film is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
There is enough action in Season of the Witch to keep you interested. The problem is there is nothing unexpected or really exciting about any of it. The special effects are run of the mill at most and the acting is just average.
It is doubtful Cage can keep turning out this type of mediocre product and stay employable. He seems willing and eager to take every role he is offered. He better develop some screening skills and not just sign up if asked. It is hard to believe that Season of the Witch didnt scream mediocrity from the very beginning.
I scored Season of the Witch a cackling 5 out of 10.
