The
story finds Sara Pezzini (played by Yancy Butler), a tough NYPD detective,
determined to bring down the mobster who she believes is responsible for
the death of her best friend. Her pursuit of the hit man she believes is
responsible brings her into contact with the Witchblade, an ancient gauntlet
with mysterious powers. Sara finds the Witchblade a blessing and a curse
as she continues to track her friend's killer. The artifact proves a great
weapon in battle, but also bombards her with troubling images which may
hold the key to solving the murder.
Comic
fans should be pleased by the serious-minded take on the material. The
look of the film is very stylish, taking advantage of city venues and architecture
to evoke a tone of old-world mystery while remaining in the present. The
feel of the show is much like that of a police drama, rather than the campiness
of a Xena or the youth-cool found in Buffy.
The
characters are all very well written and realized. Butler in very convincing
as Pezzini. She plays the part both tough and vulnerable by turns.
We particularly liked the dynamic between her character and her partner
Danny Woo (William Yun Lee). The banter between the two is very engaging
(although in a few places it trips over its own cleverness).
Likewise
the characters Kenneth Irons (played by Anthony Cistaro) and Ian Nottingham
(Eric Etebari) provide the foundation for the mystical elements of the
story. Irons is powerful but shadowy figure who holds the keys to the mysteries
of the Witchblade. Nottingham is even more intriguing. We learn that he
has apparently been raised by Irons to be his agent and an aid to whomever
wears the gauntlet.
The
only character who troubled us was Jake McCartey (played by David Chokachi).
McCartey is also a NY cop and Pezzini has to decide how much she can trust
this boyish, ex-surfer hunk. McCartey treads the line between comical
and annoying and is burdened with dubious surfer-dude dialog.
Fans
of the comic may be disappointed by the look of the movie, which is subdued
compared to the Top Cow comics. Understandably, a made-for-TV movie probably
didn't have a huge budget for special effects. The Witchblade itself looks
more like an iron gauntlet from a medieval suit of armor, the the living
weapon it is in the comics. And, while the artifact does change shapes,
it never morphs into full body armor. However, the story is limited to
Pezzini's first contact with the weapon. If the movie should spawn a TV
series, it's possible that we would seen the Witchblade manifest itself
in new ways.
Perhaps
most disappointing was the action sequences. Although, the filmmakers seemed
to aspired to Hong Kong style fight scenes, the budget probably didn't
allow them to execute them properly. Instead, the filmmakers use rapid
editing, strobe lights, silhouettes and other techniques to keep fight
scenes movie, suggesting the frenetic action that couldn't be filmed. Some
budget is allocated for a few Matrix-like "bullet time" shots. However,
we would have preferred better fight choreography over these effects, which
have now been featured in a variety of movies and TV shows.
Overall,
the movie presents an intriguing mix of cop-drama realism and ancient mysticism.
Witchblade is recommended, and Comics2Film hopes it does spawn an ongoing
series, which will allow Sara to explore the mysteries of her living weapon.
