Season Of The Witch (2011)

You have to feel a little bit sorry for Nicolas Cage, not only do his hair pieces become increasingly more ridiculous with every film he makes, he seems to be stuck starring in below average CGI heavy films that do terribly at the box office. The only thing that can be said differently about his latest film, entitled Season of the Witch, is that manages to be an average film and provides a modicum of entertainment.

The plot is based around two 14^th century knights who have recently deserted their positions as part of the crusades after their commander orders the butchering of everyone in a village. Eventually captured and thrown in prison for being deserters, the two are offered their freedom if they will help transport a suspected witch, who has been blamed on causing the Black Plague, to her trial at a monastery. This task ends up being anything but simple.

As far as silly CGI laden films go, Season of the Witch isn’t a bad one but with a little more action and less filler then it could have been a lot better. Both the opening act and the final act are good solid entertainment but the problem lies with the overly long midsection which focuses entirely on the transportation of the witch to the monastery. Bar a mildly entertaining bridge crossing scene, almost nothing of interest happens leading to the film feeling much longer and more dragged out than it actually is. Once they reach their destination and the action picks up again then it’s great fun with some excellent effects and some good old fashioned sword action. In fact the CGI effects are surprisingly solid throughout, as are the sets and costumes. As for the acting, when it comes to Cage their simply isn’t any as he sleep walks his way through his role. Ron Perlman and Clare Foy as the witch are the most entertaining characters on show here and they single handedly save the film from mediocrity.

With a little more focus on action set pieces rather than Cage’s inability to act then Season of the Witch would have been a much bigger hit. A sit stands it’s a fun film that suffers from an uneventful second act but redeems itself with a fun filled final twenty minutes.

6/10