The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc: Critic Reviews

67%

MovieWeb: 0 reviews

31%

RottenTomatoes: 50 reviews

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Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

Like its almost-demented heroine, The Messenger is unnervingly consumed with energy.
Full Review » 12 years ago
J. Hoberman Village Voice (Top Critic)

Besson seems to have no sense that Joan herself was giving a performance.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jeff Millar Houston Chronicle (Top Critic)

It's hard to recommend it to people who like action and blood because of all the talking; and, because of all the blood, it's hard to recommend it to those who might be interested in the talk.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jane Sumner Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

The English are uniformly and broadly portrayed as villainous louts, and today's four-letter oaths sound laughably anachronistic.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Michael Wilmington Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

25

Both visually spectacular and staggeringly awful.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Todd McCarthy Variety (Top Critic)

The lack of a plausible leading lady is enough to sink what is otherwise an eye-catching, although heavily '90s-style, telling of one of history's most frequently filmed stories.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Jonathan Foreman New York Post (Top Critic)

50

Besson is unable to weave the comic scenes together with the serious gory ones, so both seem increasingly jarring and unbelievable.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Peter Brunette Film.com (Top Critic)

Fails on nearly every count.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Sean Means Film.com (Top Critic)

While The Messenger feeds our appetite for visual panache, it starves the soul.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

50

Full Review » 9 years ago
Charles Taylor Salon.com (Top Critic)

I've never left a Luc Besson movie not thinking that the guy has Froot Loops for brains.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times (Top Critic)

Nothing less than a miracle saved France, The Messenger tells us, and nothing less than a miracle would be needed to rescue this film from itself.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Peter Canavese Groucho Reviews

63

Jovovich brings an intensity to the role well-matched to Besson's stylistic energy, though this comic-bookish take on Jeanne D'Arc won't be winning any historical-society awards. [Blu-ray]
Full Review » 3 years ago
Brian Webster Apollo Guide

68

Impressive to look at, but in the end, it just doesn't ring true.
Full Review » 4 years ago
Film Threat

80

Full Review » 6 years ago
Susan Tavernetti Palo Alto Weekly

25

Full Review » 9 years ago
John R. McEwen Film Quips Online

80

Full Review » 9 years ago
Chuck Rudolph Matinee Magazine

0

Makes precious little sense.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality and Practice

This unusual French interpretation of Joan of Arc sees her as a radical zealot like John Brown.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Kamal 'The Diva' Larsuel 3BlackChicks Review

20

Girlfriend was a few fries short of a happy meal.
Full Review » 11 years ago
E! Online

The battles and scenes of medieval mayhem and beauty are brilliant.
Full Review » 12 years ago
George Meyer Orlando Weekly

An entertaining, grand-scale historical drama.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Widgett Walls Needcoffee.com

40

I know less about Joan of Arc now than I did going into the film.
Full Review » 12 years ago
Frank Swietek One Guy's Opinion

An overheated, brainless opus.
Full Review » 12 years ago
David L. Beck San Jose Mercury News

The Messenger is a mess, and probably an unholy one at that.
Full Review » 12 years ago