54
Metascore
33 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 70TimeRichard SchickelTimeRichard SchickelA lively, nutty film, one full of clumsy, clanging battles filmed by the gifted, eccentric Besson with bloody brio.
- 70Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranBlends great cinematic energy with an awkwardly mixed multinational cast and aggressively over-modernized dialogue.
- 63Philadelphia InquirerDesmond RyanPhiladelphia InquirerDesmond RyanYou might be occasionally dumbfounded by The Messenger, but you won't be bored.
- 60Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonNever was the case for psychotropic medication more acute than in Jovovich's performance.
- 60Chicago ReaderLisa AlspectorChicago ReaderLisa AlspectorLuc Besson--and Andrew Birkin wrote the pandering, adolescent screenplay for this pseudosubversive hagiography, and nearly every scene screams out its sensationalist intent, though few actually achieve the status of spectacle.
- 50New York PostJonathan ForemanNew York PostJonathan ForemanBesson is unable to weave the comic scenes together with the serious gory ones, so both seem increasingly jarring and unbelievable.
- 50USA TodayMike ClarkUSA TodayMike ClarkHas a three-way split personality, which happily includes an action-packed middle to ease the pain of its early protracted exposition and later action so slow that you'll be asking "Gotta match?" to the person next to you.
- 50Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittBesson's account of the Maid of Orleans presents itself as a celebration of a martyr's faith but shows more interest in the violence and hatred that surrounded her life.
- 40Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovBesson loves his violence almost as much as he loves his leading lady.
- 25San Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannSan Francisco ChronicleEdward GuthmannIsn't some sober history lesson that bogs down in long speeches and tedious facts. It's about style, it's about fashion, it's about rock 'n' roll busting out in medieval France.