MovieChat Forums > The Reckoning (2004) Discussion > Started well, but went downhill. A sh...

Started well, but went downhill. A shame

posted 20 years ago by verb80
1 reply | jump to latest

Shame to see any Dafoe movie go down like this, after all the such a great actor and given us so many great movies.. although anyone who loves making movies like Dafoe & is in so many films bound to be apart of a few flops, and this is one. While this idea of "The Reckoning" is interesting enough, it actually starts well and are transported into the 1300's medieval time period. But the problem with this film is exactly what its trying to be. The movie at times is bit preachy which isn't the problem, but trying to mix it with a murder tail just didn't work good here. The acting overall is good, although does not make up for the rather lackluster middle and certainly ending to this movie. Fans of Dafoe should atleast see once, although be warned you will not be adding this to your Dafoe collection. 5/10

[–] liberalmedia 15 years ago

I read the novel on which the film was based, Morality Play by Barry Unsworth, and enjoyed it very much. I was therefore very disappointed that despite that promising cast, wonderful source material, and of course an earthy medieval setting, the film just fell flat. Even worse, for me, was the tinkering with the plot, which departs from the book and indeed the mood of its final pages -- not quite a happy ending, with things still a bit ambiguous, but also strangely heartening.

Please, IMDB, no more of those brainless threads about how so-and-so looks like so-and-so.