A Paul Bettany action movie released before summer is now synonymous with ‘B-film, you might want to pass this one up’ à la Legion. It’s sad because I love Paul Bettany, he is magical to watch but he isn’t powerful enough to save a weak film.
I didn’t see Priest in the theater, I saw it OnDemand. This film isn’t as bad as Legion but where Legion had cheesy horror flick action, Priest had empty action. I would say that if you are bored and wanted to watch something visually stunning then Priest is a must-watch. It was a beautiful film. It was filled with several scenes that could have been great comic book shots. This movie was directed beautifully. The dark city scape was phenomenal. They technology meets Western pretty much one-upped the likes of Firefly and Serenity. The difference is that the story was so boring. I mean sooooooooo booooorrrrrriiiiiingggg. It’s was guy saves girl from the bad guy on a moving train. We’ve seen all of it before: a repressive society dominated by religion, vampires out of control, and a guy going against “the man” for the greater good. I’m not sure why people dig Karl Urban but he’s just not my favorite actor. He played this bad guy in that “Karl Urban” way that makes you wonder what the fuss is all about with this guy and why he keeps getting work… and why IN THE HELL is now forever Bones in the new Star Trek… but I digress. I’m sure he’s a great guy…
I’d watch Priest again just to see the sets, effects, costuming and scene framing. The movie should really be rewarded for those things. The sad reality is that Priest most likely won’t be rewarded for anything because it’s lack of fun and entertainment value. It really is a shame because it is obvious that a lot of money went into making this film.
Priest was released May 13, 2011 by Sony Pictures.