Season Of The Witch ( 2011 )

Season of the Witch
Starring:  Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Foy, & Stephen Graham

Directed By Dominic Sena

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479997/


     Ah, what a way to start off the new year.  Last year at this time I was trying to get over the Avatar craze, but was met with sub-par fair.  I guess having Rogue Angels ( Legion ) and Vamps on a blood shortage ( Daybreakers ) was a little too much for your average movie goer.  This year however, will see a possible month for movies.  Just this month alone Nicolas Cage will have 2 big releases with SOTW and Drive Angry 3D, and if it's any indication as to how Nicolas is going to fair, well lets just say that he is off to a helluva start.

     Season Of The Witch takes place in the 14th century crusades time.  Behman ( Cage ) and Felson ( Perlman  ) are friends and fellow crusaders who seem to be doing nothing more than ripping through countless enemies in countless battles, and debating who will by the drinks later.  After taking an innocent life during a battle, Behman and Felson denounce the crusades and set off in search of something different.  Along the way, our hero's run into a village that seems to be run over by the Black Plague.

     After being arrested, Behman & Felson are more or less asked to take what is believed to be the source of the Plague ( a girl ) out to another  town to be dealt with by other religious heads at the monastery.  If they complete this task, both men will be pardoned for their crimes.  Knowing that the trip will be rough and possibly dangerous, Behman recruits a few of the villagers to assist with the transportation of the girl.  Along the way, the team has to overcome the possibility that maybe this child isn't what she seems and they might be in for more than they bargained for.

     I gotta admit, I expected this movie to suck.  I will now eat my words.  With a run time of 95minutes, the pace was pretty brisk and the story moved along with ease.  The fighting scenes were decent, but seemed like it was holding back on the gore, which really didn't need to be shown because the Black Plague victims were disgusting enough to make some people look away, which made me wonder how in the hell did this movie only get a PG-13 rating?  Oh wait, if there was a tit or cock shot, it would've been a hard R rating.

     Overall I was impressed with this movie.  I'm glad to see Cage busting out some decent roles now.  Kick Ass & Sorcerers Apprentice were only just a taste as to what we might see from Mr. Cage in the years to come.

-Mr. What?- ( * * * )