Fantastic!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

"The Reckoning is a 14th century tale of woe. It is a film from 2002 and it is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director i is Paul McGuigan. And the writers include Barry Unsworth (novel) and Mark Mills (Screenplay). The cast includes Paul Bettany, Marian Aguilera, Trevor Steechman, Simon McBurney, Tom Handy, Brian Cox, Willem Dafoe, Gina McKee, Stuart Wells, Vincent Cassel, Elvira Minguez, Richard Durden, Ewen Bremner, Mark Benton, Hamish McColl, Mathew Macfadyen, Luke de Woolfson, Nall Buggy, Julian Barnatt, Luisa Requena Baron, Pedro Martinez De Dioni, Tom Georgeson, Simon Pegg, Teresa Berganza Rafa Izuzkiza and Jose Luis Martinez Gutierez. The story revolves around a group of strolling actors who stumble upon a village in Midevil England. There is a play within a play and a murder plot, however, the cinematography is lacking as is the story. I gave it only 3 stars. Dale Haufrect

Murder mysteries have always captivated the human mind for one reason or another. One only has to turn on the TV to TNT or USA and chances are that a "Law & Order" episode will be on. Setting one in the Middle Ages has plenty of possibilities, since what people knew and how they acted at the time are vastly different from what people know and do in the present day. Sadly, the result is a mess for 90% of the movie.Nicholas (Paul Bettany) is a priest who fled his town after committing an unspeakable act. He joins up with a troupe of traveling actors (led by Willem Dafoe), and they come across a town where they perform a play. When they arrive, a deaf-mute girl has been convicted of a murder. The group of actors decide to put on a play about the crime, and while creating it, they realize that nothing is what it seems.Few will disagree that the main purpose of a murder mystery is to not only find out who did it, but why. "The Reckoning" accomplishes this, to be sure, but it's nearly impossible to figure out what is going on. Granted, a good mystery keeps the audience hanging until the end, but the protagonist is not supposed to get ahead of the viewer. That's what happens here. While everything is explained in the final 20 minutes, that means that for for over an hour and a half the film is an irritating mess.Additionally, this film relies on the viewer to not ask some questions about the common knowledge at the time. I have read posts on IMDb questioning this, and I have my doubts as well. I won't say what it is, but if you watch the movie, you'll wonder the same thing.The acting isn't standout at all. The actors simply do what is required of them, but they could have been played by anyone. Willem Dafoe tries to add a little spice with his subtly curious accent, but there's really not enough material to do anything really original with. The exception is Elvira Minguez, who despite not being able to speak or hear, manages to gain our sympathy.Paul McGuigan knows how to make a film look nice, but he doesn't know how to make it make sense. The setting is very authentic, and everything LOOKS great, but the story construction brings everything down. His later feature, "Lucky Number Slevin," suffered from a similar problem, but not as bad. McGuigan keeps the pace up, but the the plot twists are barely emphasized at all, many are almost "blink and miss." Worse, he leaves some of the key elements to the imagination when they shouldn't be. Finally, he doesn't have much control over his actors' accents, some of which are so thick that it's impossible to understand what they are saying.Overall, it's another film that looks better than it really is.

In 1380, in England, after committing two capital sins, the priest Nicholas (Paul Bettany) leaves the habit and joins a troupe of players leaded by Martin (Willen Dafoe). The group arrives in a small village in the lands of Lord De Guise (Vincent Cassel), where a boy has been recently murdered. Martin convinces the players to perform the crime on the stage, and Nicholas finds the hidden truth about the mysterious death.A couple of days ago I saw the trailer of "The Reckoning", I liked and I decided to see this movie. What a great surprise! The riveting story is very well directed and acted, with another spectacular performance of this great actor Paul Bettany; has an original screenplay, with a dramatic full of mystery story and excellent lines and dialogs. I particularly liked the definition of the cynical Lord De Guise, something like "that between faith and reason lays the true God: power". There is a great mistake about 96 minutes, when Lord De Guise is discussing with Nicholas, and his lips are not moving in a certain shot. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Um Crime de Paixão" ("A Crime of Passion")

I enjoyed this movie immensely. The plot surrounds Nicholas, a fugitive priest who has committed a terrible crime(Paul Bettany). He joins up with a troupe of traveling actors led by Martin(Willem Dafoe)and Tobias(Brian Cox). They agree to let him join, and travel to a town in France(??). Upon their arrival, they become aware of the death of a young boy and the woman accused of the crime. It is soon apparent that the woman, Martha (Elvira Minguez) is clearly not guilty, and Nicholas and the other actors try and solve the murder by re-creating it in a play.The plot is so thick and gritty, and filled with twists and turns. The actual events are a bit graphic and overall quite disturbing, and the end breaks my heart. The sets and costumes are more accurate than any Medieval movie I've watched in a while.The acting is simply wonderful, although some normally great actors aren't quite given enough.(Ewen Bremner tries hard and isn't as effective as was intended) Paul Bettany, who started out as a naked,cheeky actor in "A Knight's Tale", gives a simply stunning performance as Nicholas with as much depth and grit as anyone could ask. He's become a favorite of mine and is one of the most underrated and under-appreciated actors of today's times. Willem Dafoe is a joy to watch, as always. He gives a heartfelt (and rather bendy and flexibly) performance. Vincent Cassel is eeeeeevvvviilllll. And damn good at it. Overall, the three principal actors mentioned above are really what carry this intense, suspenseful drama.The film does deal with some tough issues (murder, rape, Christianity among some of them). A lot of people are calling it 'negative'. It is negative. The whole situation is negative. There's not a whole lot of joy in this movie. But the character of Nicholas is not an archetype of all Catholic priests (and I'd certainly hope not). And the movie is actually pretty relevant to somethings happening in today's worlds (RE: rich and powerful people getting away with heinous crimes without any reprimand and how society should do more about it. *coughmichaeljacksoncough*) All in all, I enjoyed this movie a lot and will rent it or buy it to own. **** out of ****