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Movie Review: Priest

 

Posted by Maki On Sunday, May 15, 2011 

 

First thing, why would they show Priest on 3D? It's pointless. However, I can also say that its way better than Legion. So after these initial thoughts, let us now discuss Priest in detail.

IGN: Priest, directed by Legion's Scott Stewart, is set in a post-apocalyptic, alternate world where a centuries-long war has waged between humans and vampires. The story follows Warrior Priest (Paul Bettany), a veteran of the vampire wars who now lives in obscurity in a walled-in city controlled by the Church (led by archbishop Christopher Plummer in a brief paycheck role).

After his niece Lucy (Lily Collins) is kidnapped by the monstrous outlaw Black Hat (Karl Urban) and his pack of vampires, Priest comes out of retirement to find her before she can be turned into a bloodsucker, a decision that puts him in violation of the Church's laws and forces him to turn his back on them but not on God.

Joining Priest on his Searchers-esque journey across the desert wasteland is Sheriff Hicks (Cam Gigandet), who is also Lucy's boyfriend, and Warrior Priestess (Maggie Q), another veteran of the vampire wars. Lots of vampire bloodletting ensues.

Priest is a cocktail made by an average bartender. It's an amalgam of Matrix wire-fu, Star Wars costuming, post-apocalyptic Mad Max western trappings, vampires reminiscent of those in Blade 2, all set in a world not unlike that of Equilibrium. It's a helluva mix, one which many fanboys will undoubtedly find cool, but it's nevertheless derivative and, fittingly for a film about vampires, soulless.

Paul Bettany is miscast as the lead character. While casting against type should be encouraged, Bettany himself seems self-conscious throughout the movie, as if he can't quite believe he's playing the laconic, grizzled tough guy. His raspy voice is a bit much, but he at least he handles himself competently in the action scenes. His best moments are his scenes with Maggie Q, where what goes unspoken between them is better than their dialogue.

Gigandet is less squinty and obnoxious than he's been in several of his past films, finding the meekness and foibles in his otherwise underwritten role. Maggie Q can play the ass-kicking babe in her sleep by now, while Collins is decent as the damsel in distress. A hammy Urban chews the scenery as Black Hat in one of the story's most underwritten roles. (Look for genre notables Brad Dourif and True Blood's Stephen Moyer in small, thankless roles.)

The movie offers different levels of vampires, from the eyeless bloodsuckers to "the familiars" who serve as the vampires' human acolytes. Black Hat is something else entirely, a unique new breed that poses a whole new danger. Action-wise, there's a sequence set in a vampire lair where Priest and Hicks find themselves on the wrong side of sundown that's kind of cool. There's also a bit where Maggie Q takes out some bikers with a rope dart that's pretty sweet. The film's being touted for its 3D, but it really doesn't have any standout moments in that format so save your money and go 2D if you really want to see it.

On a visceral level, Priest offers enough action and cool bits to probably hold the interest of most 14-year-old boys, but its hodgepodge story and overall derivative nature make it feel like a movie that should have come out back in the '90s. It's just simply there, with no real life of its own to get you fully invested in it.