Nicolas Cage’s Dark Fantasy Action on Streaming is Painful and Weird

Written by Robert Scucci | Published 34 seconds ago

Once again, Rotten Tomatoes fooled me and kept me away from Nicolas Cage Time of the Witch – a dark, supernatural fictional film set during the Smyrniote war – and deprived one of our actor’s best films when he released so much direct-to-video content. Although this film is not Cage’s finest hour (still waiting National Treasure 3 here), it hardly deserves the 11 percent critical score it currently has on the popular review aggregator.

My ego is also so inflated that I don’t go back to watch Time of the Witch because my theory has been proven right once again: if you watch enough (allegedly) horror movies, sometimes you strike gold in the form of a fun movie with breakneck pacing, moving action sequences, and snappy dialogue.

Will Time of the Witch Can it be remembered as one of the greatest films of our time? Not at all. But it’s one of those rainy Sunday afternoon movies that’s definitely worth 95 minutes of your time.

An Enchanting Good Time

Time of the Witch it is carried by Sir Behmen von Bleibruck (Nicolas Cage) and Sir Felson (Ron Perlman), two knights who have seen their share of murder during their reign in the Smirniote Crusades of the 14th century. Disgusted by their massive acts of violence in the name of God against all non-believers (including innocent women and children), Behmen and Felson decided to leave their profession and distance themselves from the violence that defined so much of their adult lives. Behmen and Felson end up outed as heretics while traveling through plague-ridden Styria, and the ailing Cardinal D’ambroise (Christopher Lee) tasks them with transporting a witch named Anna (Claire Foy) to a group of nuns in a remote monastery so she can be properly judged.

Refusal of the mission means imprisonment and eventual death by hanging or burning (Felson would prefer immediate hanging if given the luxury of choosing how to die), but the two knights will receive a full pardon if they agree to walk through the dark forest and make good on the delivery.

Joined by Priest Debelzaq (Stephen Campbell Moore), the head bodyguard of Cardinal Johann (Ulrich Thomsen), a map expert and trickster named Hagamar (Stephen Graham), and a young man with heroic ambitions known as Kay von Wollenbart (Robert Sheehan), Behmen and Felson set out to find the palace they are monks. Cardinal D’ambroise thinks that Anna is dealing with the Black Death that is raging in Europe Time of the Witchand he has reason to believe that the monastery holds the key to stopping the plague in its tracks.

Buddy Cop Banter Days

Having a problem with identity, Time of the Witch it plays more like a buddy cop movie than a popular thriller. Behmen and Felson don’t just act as reckless as you might imagine, but they seem to be having the time of their lives as they traverse the treacherous wilderness and lead Anna to her trial and eventual execution. Having been war buddies during the famous war scenes at the front of the film, the two are so enraged by the violence that they crack jokes like old college buddies on a stag night.

Although they take their mission seriously, they really hit the nail on the head while trying to end the tedium, giving the film a level of beauty I didn’t expect.

Time of the Witch sets up this dynamic between Behmen and Felson right from the opening, a shocking battle sequence that reminds me of Wolfgang Petersen’s warpath directed by Brad Pitt. Troy. Before they went down the hills to kill hundreds of men with the sword, Behmen and Felson first argued about who would be the hero of the day, and who would be buying beer and mead after a well-fought battle. Against the bleak subject found at the heart of the Time of the WitchI appreciate the way his humor breaks down the tension when things start to get bad.

Don’t Let the Flawless Critics Fool You

At the end of the day, all I want from my media consumption is to be be happyagain Time of the Witch he checks all the boxes on my “hit my eyeballs” Bingo card. Between the epic battles, the magical wolves roaming the dark forest, and the timeless chemistry between Cage and Perlman, you’d be hard-pressed to find a film about a dark disease as entertaining as this one.

If you don’t believe me, consider this:

1980’s Xanadu it currently has a 31 percent critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is its highest score Time of the Witch. At least the latest title has some structural consistency, and there isn’t a single instance of roller-disco song and dance moves in the storytelling space. indeed, Time of the Witch it has a disappointing lack of Kublai Khan’s sweet dome, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and say this could be better.

From this writing, you can stream Time of the Witch free on Tubi