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By Robert Scucci
| Published
Once again, Rotten Tomatoes has led me astray and kept me away from Nicolas Cage Season of the Witch – the dark, supernatural action-adventure fantasy film set during the Smyrniote crusades – and deprived me of one of our best actor’s best films during the time he was mostly putting out direct-to-video content. Although this film is not Cage’s best hour (still waiting for National Treasure 3 here), it in no way deserves the abysmal 11 percent critical score it currently holds on the popular review aggregator.
My ego is also inflated to the point of no return after watching Season of the Witch because my theory has been proven right once again: if you watch enough (allegedly) terrible movies, you sometimes strike gold in the form of a fun movie with a fast pace, wild action sequences, and snappy dialogue .
Yes Season of the Witch be remembered as one of the greatest films of our time? Not completely. But it’s one of those rainy Sunday afternoon movies streaming that definitely deserves 95 minutes of your time.
Good Time Witch
Season of the Witch carried by Sir Behmen von Bleibruck (Nicolas Cage) and Sir Felson (Ron Perlman), two knights who have seen their share of slaughter during their tenure with the Smyrniote crusades in the 14th century. Becoming disgusted with their large-scale acts of violence in the name of God against all unbelievers (including innocent women and children), Behmen and Felson decided to abandon their mission and walk away from the violence that defined most of their lives as adults. Behmen and Felson are eventually left out as deserters while traveling through plague-ridden Styria, and an ailing Cardinal D’ambroise (Christopher Lee) gives them a mission to transport an alleged witch named Anna (Claire Foy) to a group of monks in a distant monastery to have a fair trial.
Refusal of the mission means imprisonment and eventual death by hanging or burning (Felson would prefer a quick hanging if he has the luxury of choosing how he dies), but both knights will receive a pardon full if they agree to cross the dark forest and do. good on the delivery.
Joining Priest Debelzaq (Stephen Campbell Moore), Cardinal Johann’s chief bodyguard (Ulrich Thomsen), a map expert and swindler named Hagamar (Stephen Graham), and an alter boy with knightly aspirations named Kay von Wollenbart (Robert Sheehan), Behmen and Felson went out to find the monastery. Cardinal D’ambroise thinks that Anna is responsible for the Black Death that runs rampant through Europe in Season of the Witchand he has reason to believe that the monastery holds the key to stopping the plague dead in its tracks.
Buddy Cop Banter For Days
Having a bit of an identity crisis, Season of the Witch plays out like a buddy cop movie more so than an epic fantasy adventure movie. Not only do Behmen and Felson go through the motions as you’d think, but they seem to be having the time of their lives crossing the dangerous desert and transporting Anna to her trial and possible execution. After being war buddies during the epic battle montages found at the front of the film, the two are so desensitized by violence to the point where they crack jokes like old college roommates on a stag night .
Although they take their mission seriously, they definitely whistle as they work to break down the hardness, giving this film a level of charm that I wasn’t expecting.
Season of the Witch sets up this dynamic between Behmen and Felson off the cuff during the opening battle sequences, a shock that reminds me of the war path found in the series Wolfgang Petersen and star Brad Pitt. Turn. Before driving down the hills to execute hundreds of men with a sword, Behmen and Felson will first debate who will be the hero of the day, and who will buy rounds of beer and mead after a well-fought battle. Against the bleak subject found in the middle Season of the WitchI appreciate how much his sense of humor breaks the tension when things start to get serious.
Don’t Let The Cynical Critics Fool You
At the end of the day, all I want out of my media consumption is to be entertaina Season of the Witch checks all the boxes on my “beam it into my eyeballs” Bingo card. Between the epic battles, witch wolves roaming through the dark forest, and the endless chemistry between Cage and Perlman, you’d be hard pressed to find a film about the black plague as entertaining as this one.
If you don’t believe me, consider this:
1980s Xanadu there is currently a critical rating of 31 percent on Rotten tomatoeswhich is a significantly higher score than Season of the Witch. At least the final title has some semblance of a plot, and not one instance of roll-disco songs and dance instead of storytelling. sure, Season of the Witch with a disappointing lack of Kublai Khan’s pleasure dome, but I’m willing to stick my neck out and say this is probably for the better.
As of this writing, you can stream Season of the Witch free on Tubi
