Season of the Witch

Season of the Witch

 

 

 

 

This was a disappointing movie in the end. The premise had alot of potential, but I feel the movie fell short of what it could have been. 'Season of the Witch' stars Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman [Hell Boy] as two kick-ass medieval Knights who aren't all that happy with what the church expects them to do "in the name of God" during their many battles, so they leave the churches army in protest. Shortly after they are quickly rounded up and with the threat of being charged with deserting hanging over them, are persuaded to transport a young woman suspected of being a witch to some monks. The monks possess an ancient book of spells, one of which will destroy her powers and hopefully lift the curse of the black plague that has beset the land. 

 

Things I liked about the movie :

 - The opening scene was great, and perhaps is the reason I was a bit disappointed with the rest of the movie. Had the thrills, spills and scares from the opening minutes continued for the rest of the flick, it would've got two thumbs up from this little black duck. 

- Easy pace throughout. The film never wasted too much time getting stuck on anything that was unnecessary. 

- Ron Perlman was....well, Ron Perlman. Loved his character [Felson] and he certainly has an on-screen presence about him which he displayed in 'Hell Boy' and was also on show here.   

- A 'death by wolves' scene that is almost as good as the one in Adam Greens 'Frozen'.

 

 

 

Things I didn't like about the movie :

 - The script was below par. Apart from a couple of humorous exchanges between Cage and Perlman, the dialogue lacked punch.

- I got over it eventually, but the fact that most of the characters spoke with American accents even though the film was set in Europe in 1335 AD. 

- Dodgy CGI, especially in the last grand finale scene.

 

The one thing I'm still not sure how I feel about in the movie [minor spoiler alert] :

 - The "twist" towards the end of the movie involving the suspected witch. Makes the title of the film sort of redundant.

 

Overall 'Season of the Witch' won't be the worst movie I watch this year. It had it's moments, but in my opinion fell short of the better movie it could have been.