My first Milla Jovovich movie was Ultraviolet, which has spawned more "worst movie ever" threads on IMDb than any other. Well, I wouldn't call it that bad, but still... it hardly gave me any faith in Milla's career as a dramatic performer.

So I popped this flick in the DVD player not expecting much. Sacrée merde! What a surprise. It seems, stripped of her futuristic-mutant-motorcycle-riding-vampire persona, she's really quite good. This film--probably the least glamorous of her entire repertoire--really gives her a chance to show her full dynamics. I can't say much more without giving away the plot, so I'll drop it for now.

Now on to the director Luc Besson. For the first half hour or so, he seems to suffer from "I wanna be Kenneth Branagh" syndrome (which is almost as painful as the avian flu). We get a dozen scenes of someone running down a corridor with the camera chasing behind. We get a dozen overhead-camera-twirly shots of someone lying on the ground. We get so many crane shots, you start thinking you're on a construction site. What's wrong with all this? I'll tell you. When the camera swings & sways too much it detracts from the actors' performances. Sure it adds visual drama, but so can a good fireworks scene (with just as much subtlety).

But suddenly, right around the halfway mark, the camera man simmers down. The whole tone of the film changes, becomes darker and more intense, relying on the power of the actors instead of the gimmicky camera-work. This works brilliantly, especially when Dustin Hoffman finally steps in.

This is the break that takes the movie in an entirely different (and possibly offensive) direction. It looks like some IMDb reviewers weren't too happy. I'm sure plenty of others got bored (because the swordfights stop). But me, I thought this change of mood was what made the movie. Suddenly it becomes a spooky, psychological thriller with a lot of great dialogue and a ton of good acting. THIS is the payoff.

My biggest gripe with the movie is that after seeing the 2nd half, I kept saying to myself "why the hell did Besson waste so much time getting here?" There were a few too many insignificant fluff scenes in the beginning (like the virginity test lol) that should have been replaced with more of the powerful Milla-Dustin dialogue toward the end.

I won't comment on historical accuracy, religious sacrilege, lack-of-realism or the fact that there were a few too many American accents for 15th century France. These flaws fall by the wayside if you're instead paying attention to the complex conflict brewing in Milla's character. This is really her movie, and a damn good one at that. Like my title implies, it's good enough to make me want to give Ultraviolet another try.

It's 15th century France. Joan of Arc (Milla Jovovich) is the teenage warrior leading the fight against the English.

This is Luc Besson's grand take on the heroine Joan of Arc with lots of gusto. Milla Jovovich certainly has the crazed intensity of a zealot. Sometimes, it drifts towards camp. Considering she got the job because she was married to Luc Besson at the time, it could have gone a lot worst.

The basic storyline is well known. The best parts of the story happens midway in the movie. That's where the big battle scenes occur. Certainly the battles are big especially for using real action in modern movies. After the battles, the story drags as she gets captured and tried. It may be better to climax the film with the big win in Orléans. Keep the slower parts as a postscript.

We all like a good biopic, right? Not when it comes out all screwy, like "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" does. Maybe it's the (almost) laughable anachronisms. For example, a soldier sarcastically says "Jesus Christ"; anyone who understands the evolution of English knows that people didn't use "Jesus Christ" as an expletive in Medieval Times. Later on, after Joan (Milla Jovovich) has been injured, someone says "She's nuts." COME ON, PEOPLE!!!!! In the 1400s, "nuts" was not a synonym for "crazy"! Because of these misplaced comments - not to mention other things - the acting comes out a lot weaker than it should, given the supporting cast (Dustin Hoffman, Faye Dunaway, John Malkovich).

All in all, you feel like your brain just got warped after watching this movie. Probably the worst kind of movie is one that had really good intentions but got ruined through incompetence; this is definitely one such movie. If nothing else, it's good to know that this didn't ruin everyone's careers. The cast members have since made up for it. But considering that Luc Besson has made such good movies as "The Professional" and "The Fifth Element", don't waste your time on this.