Before "The Messenger," director Luc Besson ("La Femme Nikita") was already talented at making fictional characters forgettable, so it was curious to see what he'd do with France's national hero, Joan of Arc. The predictable result is an overlong, muddled movie that does nothing for her valiant reputation.

Even Besson's keen eye and adept feel for action falter under bad writing and a 14th century atmosphere that feels no earlier than yesterday. But then again, when Milla Jovovich is cast as the picture's heart and soul, the viewer can't expect too much.

Joan of Arc was the 19-year-old French girl who was summoned by the heavens to lead the country's weakened army against the invading English. Besson begins the film with a 13-year-old Joan and her visions from God, following through to her successful battle campaigns and ending with Joan's capture by the English and public execution.

Besson's big question is whether or not the girl was a true messenger from above or a half-lunatic who took several nightmares a bit too literally. After the movie's undramatic heresy trial, Joan is found to be more sinner than saint, and her charred body is less about martyrdom than it is her personal vendetta against the English.

Early in "The Messenger," a young Joan returns from Church only to witness a murderous Englishman kill her older sister and copulate with her body. There's no proof that Joan had an older sister or that she helplessly viewed her violent death but for Besson, it doesn't matter: The scene perpetuates Joan's revenge on the invading English.

It's a good example of how he confuses fact and fiction and creates a world where almost nothing is believable. To Besson's credit, he includes factually based information like Joan's refusal to let her soldiers use swear words. Unfortunately, the director manages to make the authentic seem phony, and when Joan gripes at her cursing soldiers, it plays like another wasted joke.

As Joan, it's a miracle Jovovich compels the French to keep fighting because she can't convince the audience with her cheap emotions. Give her an "A" for enthusiasm, but when it comes to authentic performance, she's lucky that modeling is her real profession.

A big chunk of the film is devoted to Joan's messages from God, and Dustin Hoffman shows up as her conscience. For a movie that devotes so much time to a character's psychology, Joan remains a messy enigma. When Hoffman appears on screen, he looks just as shocked to be there as the audience is to see him.

John Malkovich makes the most of his newly crowned king of France, while Faye Dunaway is his bossy stepmother. None of these stars are given much to work with, and one can assume they're all currently shopping for new agents.

Fortunately for Besson, action has always been his calling card. But disappointingly, the battle scenes lack the splendid choreography of his earlier outings. Not that 14th century wars should necessarily be filmed with a shoot-out's grace, but nothing suggests the creator of "La Femme Nikita" is devising the action.

A crop of wartime gadgets such as catapults and boiling lead, along with a few quality be-headings are the lone bright spots in otherwise drab recreations of medieval warfare.

"The Messenger's" redemptive qualities are few, but if anything, one must acknowledge the visuals are at times stunning. The early scenes of a young Joan traveling to confessions are elegant and the ceremony for the new king of France has a large-scale grandeur.

The camera savvy within Joan's holy visions is surreal and trippy, even though it exists for the sake of being flashy. Normally, Besson's camera work can salvage the movie, but this time, the supporting elements are too far gone.

A lawsuit is pending over "The Messenger" because another director claims Besson stole the project in efforts to keep his then wife, Jovovich, as the lead. When the film hit production six months later, the director and his wife had already split. After viewing the finished product, one can only wonder if Besson still thinks his ex-wife can act and whether or not fighting for her and this picture was such a good idea.

One shamrock out of five

• Mr. Smith goes to church in 'Dogma'
  
• Joan of Arc sends weak and bleak message
  
• Mother-daughter story is anything but complete