(24 May 2012)

Great comic book action flick

I'm sorry, "graphic novel" action film.All sarcasm aside, "Priest" was exactly as advertised; excellent science fiction action, well suited for popcorn. And I enjoyed the heck out of it.In an alternate earth, the Church and vampires have been at war for centuries. Technology didn't offer the solution, recruiting and training extraordinary fighters, the Priests, did. And when the church had won, and the vampires were contained in underground reservations, the Priests were not needed. The Church marginalized the Priests, and didn't want to admit that their control was incomplete, so when the vampires escaped the reservation and raided a farm house, they didn't want to acknowledge that the vampires were loose, or that the Priests were needed again. But the settlers killed and kidnapped by the vampires were friends of a Priest. While Paul Bettany delivered an outstanding performance (of its sort) in the title role, Maggie Q, Karl Urban, and Christopher Plummer really carried it for me. Bettany delivered the brooding warrior priest very well, delivering intensity and portraying a man trying to reconcile conflicting duties well. The role didn't allow him great range, but he did the most with it. Maggie Q was allowed a far greater range as another Priest with chaste love for the hero. Her roles are getting more serious, and she is finally getting a chance to show her abilities. Well, she's always gotten to show off her martial arts gifts, and she does again here too. Karl Urban also gets a well earned, central role in this one, but aside from saying that he does an excellent job in a different character from earlier roles, I can't go further without spoilers. Christopher Plummer, of course, was excellent, adding depth and power to the role of the senior clergyman and political leader in the Church.The action was first rate, the plot was solid, and the actors were exceptional. OK, so sci-fi action flicks aren't for everyone, especially ones from comic books. If they are, you'll enjoy this one a lot.E.M. Van Court

(23 May 2012)

The Sin of Apathy

It's not very often that a post-apocalyptic flick with heavy religious undertones comes by, as such a project has the fascinating potential to make observations or comments on the role of religion in society. Yet, "Priest," while starting out strong, sadly doesn't take full advantage of it's source material to make a compelling tale."Priest" takes place in a post apocalyptic version of earth, where, for thousands of years, humanity and vampires have been at war. After the introduction of Priests, humans with seemingly supernatural powers, the vampires were defeated. But now, years later, the priests, disbanded, must move again when the vampires start to rise again, only to find that the church they once supported now will seemingly do anything to keep the vampire menace a secret.While it has a fascinating premise, "Priest" finds itself in the situation where it's fictional world is more fascinating then the story being told. The idea of a super-corrupt church trying to maintain it's power at any cost while a vampire menace threatens to kill everyone is fascinating, even more so if some of it's powerful soldiers defy it. But the story doesn't go into these ideas too deeply, mainly focusing instead on a chase plot line that's not as compelling, and didn't get my attention emotionally. However, the film does offset it somewhat with some great visuals (the absolutely gigantic desert vistas are beautiful) and an exciting third act set mostly on a giant train.In the end though, "Priest" is something of a missed opportunity. The potential for a really interesting story isn't taken as far as it could have, and while we have some exciting set pieces late in the film, for the most part everything else is familiar "Powered uber-soldier goes on personal quest" territory.

(22 May 2012)

Maybe it Works In 3D...

PRIEST is an amazing film in one way: how did a cast of fine actors sign on to commit to this sticky gooey film? It is based on a comic book/graphic novel story (hint) by Min-Woo Hyung and roughly adapted for the screen by Cory Goodman and pasted together for 3D action by director Scott Charles Stewart. The PR summary is as adept as any explanation of the 'plot' (hint): 'PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.'Now the graphics take over. Paul Bettany is sincerely obsessed as the Priest, Cam Gigandet provides the eye candy in his portrayal of Hicks - sidekick to the Priest along with a young Priestess (Maggie Q), Karl Urban spends the greater part of his screen time hidden behind his Black Hat (the characters name), Christopher Plummer (why oh why?) is given the cameo of Monsignor Orelas, and the two beauties of the film are incarnate in Maggie Q and Lily Collins. The majority of the action involves a seemingly endless supply of goo covered all-teeth-and-no-head bouncing vampires that perhaps is the reason this film was made as a 3D horror flick. In the regular screen these vampires become rather reminiscent of silly putty rolled in nasal secretions. For those legions of followers of anything resembling Vampires, this will likely appeal. For those who can tolerate all the action as long as there is a story line, this is probably one to miss. But it may be worth seeing as a 3D epic...so why did the solid cast sign on/ More to come, likely. Grady Harp, January 12

(22 May 2012)

Love this movie

This review is from: Priest (Rated Version) (DVD) Love the special effects. A new take on an old favorite. The whole movie rated 5 stars for me. Scary without being a slasher movie about time we had some new blood so to speak.

Ralf_Solo (21 May 2012)

Good potential but weak movie

This could have been a great movie , the story is nice and there aregood actors to feet the characters but all this was badly exploited andthe result is a pretty average SF flick: POS : good atmosphere , nice costumes, descent acting, the overallstory about the endless war between humans and vampires is nice (I likeit) , music and special effects are OK.CON: the animated cartoon at the beginning is weak and it is OBVIOUSLYa cheap way to show a story, no enough depth in the human citadel (howthe people live , how the main hero live), missing fight between blackhat vs 3 priest, too much cowboy style near ridiculous, last fight on atrain is not interesting, the all plot about the new vampire menace isweak, the kidnapping of the girl is irrelevant, From where the trainstarted (I mean they kidnapped the girl then attacked the city near thehive ?), numerous holes in the world constancy ( how come a city can benear a (only several years) ancient vampire hive without any protection, any guards, how come an big outpost can be overcome by vampires andminions without alarm the main city, how come there are ancientdeserted humans city with skyscrapers and no protective walls as therewas a war against the vampires at this time), weak annoying humor timeto time with the sheriff, missing about 30 min (only 87 min movie, whata joke). It could have be much much better with a bit more dark and mysteriousworld, a better explained society and heroes (no cowboy please)to careabout and a vampire menace more frightening.

Matthew Pejkovic (21 May 2012)

An ugly exercise in genre filmmaking and religion bashing, Priest marks a new low in the action/horror hybrid, and once again proves why Paul Bettany is the worst action star working today.

(20 May 2012)

Pretty good

First off I would like to say that I am not a fan of vampire movies, but this one really made me want to see more as the movie went on. The fighting scenes are the best parts. I was disappointed by the fact that the movie ended kinda quickly. It seems that somehow you know the boss vampire is not dead, but anyway I wouldn't mind seeing a part 2 in the future. Overall if you like the movie Blade you should definitely check this movie out.

(20 May 2012)

"You Don't Talk To Priests"

The 2011 cinematic feature 'Priest' joins the ever growing list of vampire films glutting the theaters. While there's really nothing new being offered here, it does turn out to be an overall enjoyable way to while away 87 minutes of viewing time. It has a unmistakable similarity in style and and temperament to the 2003 film 'Underworld' starring Kate Beckinsale. In 'Priest' our alluring femme fatale has been replaced by a fearless clergyman / warrior played by Paul Bettany who scowls and glares his way through a myriad of supernatural foes as he marches toward the Vampire Queens' nest. If you happen to be one of the many who watched 'Underworld' more for the presence of Beckinsale then the blood-suckers, you'll be happy to know that Bettany is accompanied on his heroic quest by the beautiful and just as deadly Maggie Q. That certainly should make you feel a little better. I don't think 'Priest' is destined to become a classic, but if you like this genre of film you'll find a place for this one in your DVD library. Bettany is great as always, Maggie Q makes a most interesting side-kick and Karl Urban is awesome in the role of Black Hat, one of my favorite bad guys in recent memory. Definitely something you can enjoy watching more than once.

(20 May 2012)

nice surprise

This review is from: Priest (Unrated Version) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) The TV commercials made this movie look stupid and uninteresting. It was a pleasant surprise! every macho action genre mixed into one entertaining film. Vampire, post-apocalyptic, mystic martial arts, revenge, save the damsel in distress, stoic and isolated indestructible hero -- cool chick side-kick -- very entertaining. Can't wait for the squeal.

Inspector Javert (19 May 2012)

Just a made-for-tv Sci-fi flick

and a bad one at that.How did this movie make it to the theaters and not go straight to DVD? A better question, How was this movie ever even made? After an hour of watching it, I felt a tingling in my head, and realized my brain was going to sleep.Weak acting, weak one-liners, super-weak story, horrible SFX, I mean, WHAT THE HELL??? If you have seen any of the "Blade" movies, you are 75% of the way to seeing this one. "Completely unoriginal" is an understatment.I have to commend the people who made the trailer - they took a nothing movie and made me want to see it. And in 3D? Puh-lease.... WHY??? What was the point except to rip people off the extra $$$ for the effect? I feel like I was bamboozled, swindled, mugged even, for having bought a ticket and watched this movie.

(17 May 2012)

Got a bit better the second time around...

This review is from: Priest (Unrated Version) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) So, here's the deal....I read all the reviews, and I mean ALL the reviews before I purchased this Blu-Ray. Even though I had reservations, I went with it, being I love vampire/horror/sci-fi movies. It took 3 viewings before I decided to write this review, and that included watching the extras, especially the deleted/extended scenes. Here is my honest conclusion.First, if I were to write this review after one watching, I would have to agree with those that gave it a one-star, this was dreadful after one viewing. The worse part, is the opening animation. It insults the intelligence of any audience, and is so poorly done (in that Speed Racer, 1960s, bad Japanese style) that it is laughable, and makes you not want to not only watch this movie any longer, but actually sets you up to believe this might be a comedy. I completely fail to understand why this was done in that manner, but without a doubt, that should have beed edited from the beginning.Seconds, My thought was how poorly written the script is, it is so predicatable and pretencious that even Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet and Karl Urban had an issue making these poorly written lines seem plausable.Third, the ending was so weak...I can't even continue. So you would think I would just place this away, never to be seen again. I did not.I decided, I would watch it again and then watch the extras...especially the deleted/etended scenes. What I found amazed me....they cut out some of the best parts.First, the orignial opening scene should have contained the extended cut, it would have framed the story much better( I said the story, not the writing, that there is no hope for) and there would have been much more action in the beginning to keep you somewhat entertained. Granted, that horrible animation would have been there, but at least with an extended opening scene, you would have forgotten about the animation.Second, the next to final scene should have been the deleted scene of Lucy and The Priest at the farm, with her asking him to stay. It would have added a "human" quality to the film that was poorly missing. Then the final shot could have been the current final shot.Third, While some of the photography seemed like reused footage from Batman and other movies, overall I thought the cinematagraphy was well done and the atmosphere did convey what a horror movie should conveyFourth, purly and simply, the Direction and Screenplay were just so trite and I mean trite, that three good actors could not save it. Also, what is the purpose of having Cam Gigandet in a movie if at some point in time he does not take his shirt off (think Twilight and Burlesque).So, while I will admit, the outakes , in some bizarre way, made me appreciate this movie a bit more, and bring it from my original rating I would have given it of one star to three stars, it is still fairly dreadful. One can only hope, if there are sequels, they not be handled by the current Director and Screenwriter.

(17 May 2012)

Enjoyed Immensely!

This review is from: Priest (Amazon Instant Video) Paul Bettany was brilliantly cast. He adds a depth to this film that you wouldn't expect from a comic book remake. Interesting mix of themes, heavy Catholic overtones with Stephen King's The Tower series mixed in. I hope Bettany returns to this role.

Walter Chaw (17 May 2012)

It may not be great, but it's pure, and it deserved better.

(16 May 2012)

action movie without the usual, boring, overdone anti-hero

its a typical action movie but for a change the good guys are good: they arent assassins who suddenly turn good, they arent murderers and drug dealers with a heart of gold or whatever bad movie cliche you want. the difference here is that the good can kick butt. its also nice to have a movie where someone who has some kinda religion isnt a killer or tyrant (nowadays if a religious figure is in a movie you know they will be the villian). they dont always follow the rules but it doesnt glamourize the villians.

Leigh Paatsch (12 May 2012)

At the very least, the film's herky-jerky mood swings will keep viewers on their toes long after they become bored with the main plot.

ste7en (12 May 2012)

Great comic movie! We want a sequel please!!

I don't know what's wrong with some people but I just loved the movie.It has great atmosphere, cool-ass characters and convincing specialeffects. I hope this movie gets a sequel made by the same team.The only thing I didn't like was that it's just too short. It's only 87minutes long.. c'mon. An added subplot and an extra 20 to 30 minuteswouldn't hurt.The best thing is that the movie didn't use the dreaded shaky-camnonsense you see everywhere else nowadays. It's just a well shot comicmovie.So, Scott Stewart: Give us more Priests!

(12 May 2012)

Great value if bought used

This review is from: Priest (Unrated Version) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Personal taste drives movie ratings. Some good imagery and a unique twist on the evolution of the human vampire. Unrated version not much different than theatrical version. The new DVD seems overpriced and a used Bluray is currently the better option.

gradyharp (11 May 2012)

Maybe it works in 3D...

PRIEST is an amazing film in one way: how did a cast of fine actorssign on to commit to this sticky gooey film? It is based on a comicbook/graphic novel story (hint) by Min-Woo Hyung and roughly adaptedfor the screen by Cory Goodman and pasted together for 3D action bydirector Scott Charles Stewart. The PR summary is as adept as anyexplanation of the 'plot' (hint): 'PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fithriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries ofwar between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendaryWarrior Priest from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurityamong the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopiancities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderouspack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on aquest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joinedon his crusade by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered youngwasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possessesotherworldly fighting skills.'Now the graphics take over. Paul Bettany is sincerely obsessed as thePriest, Cam Gigandet provides the eye candy in his portrayal of Hicks -sidekick to the Priest along with a young Priestess (Maggie Q), KarlUrban spends the greater part of his screen time hidden behind hisBlack Hat (the characters name), Christopher Plummer (why oh why?) isgiven the cameo of Monsignor Orelas, and the two beauties of the filmare incarnate in Maggie Q and Lily Collins. The majority of the actioninvolves a seemingly endless supply of goo covered all-teeth-and-no-head bouncing vampires that perhaps is the reason this film was madeas a 3D horror flick. In the regular screen these vampires becomerather reminiscent of silly putty rolled in nasal secretions. For thoselegions of followers of anything resembling Vampires, this will likelyappeal. For those who can tolerate all the action as long as there is astory line, this is probably one to miss. But it may be worth seeing asa 3D epic...so why did the solid cast sign on/ More to come, likely. Grady Harp

Eric D. Snider (09 May 2012)

Too good-looking to be dismissed entirely, not bad enough to be worthy of outright scorn, but not good enough to watch, either.

Z (09 May 2012)

Amazing Trailer, Worse movie by far this year

I was so excited to watch the premier of this movie, and end up wishing the movie could be over as soon as possible was honestly so disappointing. Yes, everything you see on the trailer is in it, and that's about it. Horrible story line, random dialogues, and forcing that romance into the film when there was nothing to begin with...was just purely awkward. I think the editing of the film is really what killed it, nothing was well connected...the movie was an hour and 20 mins, it felt like forever....everyone walked out of the theatre either made or disappointed. Don't waste your money trying to watch this "3D" movie....just wait for the DVD, and you'll be so glad you didn't waste the money to watch this ill made film.