Noah Love'Only You

(2012-04-26 23:28:12)

Watchable

I went to watch the movie without great expectations. My biggestexpectation was to see some cool 3D. Story was alright, kind a notreally original, visual concept was pretty cool, and so was acting.Music in the movie is also really good, character development was a bitbad. Also, 3D wasn't really impressive (there was actually very few andit's all based on sparkling fire, some birds, and priest's weapon) ...All in all, movie worth watching, but it won't make anything at thestage of movie production. That was kind a short review, now here's a bit longer :Let's start with beginning.Beginning of the movie was really impressive - priests are walkingthrough caves, and suddenly they're faced with horde of vampires; "It'sa trap" - and bum; all you see are black cloaks and screams followed bymotioned vampires jumping from one priest to another. Then, it comes tothe city; I was mostly amazed by the one simple thing - how is that, ifvampires hate sun, whole city was covered in darkness while "outside"was covered in sunlight ? Never explained in the movie, but ... Then,it comes the sentence used most in movie "If you go against Church,you're going against God" - I am not really sure if those are exactsame words, so forgive me if I'm mistaken. Then it comes moment ofkidnapping Lucy; horde of vampires are rushing towards the house, andthey're hiding Lucy in basement; however, not good enough. There aresome plot holes, but it's alright ... still. Then, the main protagonist of movie decides that it's time to finallybreak the chain he's bonded to by defying direct Church orders andgoing after kidnapper. Guess what - Church isn't pleased, so they'resending other remaining priests after him. One of them is a woman,secretly in love with the main character, while he was 'in love' withhis brother's wife, mother of his child. It's kind a never-resolvinglove triangle, but handable. Afterwards, everything's based on traveling from one place to anotherand fighting, so I'll that to you. What I liked about this movie isthat, even upon the very title 'Priest', movie didn't tell a story byreligious way. But we're well known for that fact - if you want bestfor your character, make him say 'So I'm going against God' - too muchtension - not.However, if we sum all, it was enjoyable experience, but I doubt I willwatch movie again because there's no real message in the film but thatpower does not come from Church but from ourself and God, or that weshould not allow darkness to blind our eyes with fear but to fight backat the very first sight of it. What can I say - watch it for yourself.The character I liked most, actually, was that crazy vampire-priest andthe way he has seen the world; very inspiring. You'd notice that I didn't mention the short cartoon-movie at thebeginning of the movie; well, it was best part of film, so I don't wantto spoil that. 6 out of 10 (they left a lot of space for second film, but I doubt itwill be, but we will see)

kevinxirau

(2012-04-26 07:56:06)

Has potential but little bite.

Well, this is unexpected. Supposedly based on a comic book, priestcombined basically a creature feature with Western, post-apocalypticmovie, and religious film. This is all an interesting concept, howeverit never really amounts to much.Plot: For years, humanity and "vampires" have been at war, resulting inthe devastation of most of the planet. The vampires were defeatedthanks to a special elite group known as the Priests. While humanitynow remains in isolated areas, the few remaining vampires are locked upin special facilities (a formula for disaster). When an innocent girlis kidnapped, her father, a Priest, sets out to find her and stop aplot the vampires made up to rise again.Now first off, the creatures here are suppose to be vampires. They lookmore like mutant naked mole rats. I admit they actually look prettycool and they're sure to freak you out a few times. Not to mention,these things live in "hives", they have "guards", and they're lead by a"queen", just like termites. Why call them vampires?! They don't bearany resemblance to actual vampires; they might as well be some totallydifferent creature. And another thing, why keep the remaining vampiresalive after the war? It absolutely makes no sense because keeping thecreatures alive guarantees that they will kill us all in the future.That is a serious hole in the plot. Who writes all this?!! As for everything else, it's pretty much hit-and-miss, mainly miss. Thestory is somewhat uninspired and has an uneven flow to it. Certainscenes seem rushed, misplaced, or sporadic and that takes away somepoints for me. Most of the main characters, including the protagonist,are relatively bland and have little to no interesting traits aboutthem. The dialog between these characters is not written well and itseems that the filmmakers couldn't think of how to set the dialogscenes in a proper order. If there's one aspect I absolutely hate inmovies, especially this one, it's the religious leaders. Here they justdeny any vampire attack despite seeing the evidence in the end andaccuse our poor Priest of being a deserter and a fake. I personallyhave nothing against religion, but fanatics who take it too far reallyannoy the hell out of me.The only good things here are the "vampires", the action, and the mainvillain. Everything else is crap. It's not recommended that you seethis flick, otherwise it would suck the time of your life out of youlike the parasite it is. If you do wind up watching this movie, go to aconfessional because this film is a sin.

silverdragon4

(2012-04-26 17:50:38)

Could have been SO much better.

This was a fairly okay attempt of a vampire Sci-fi film. I can in noway consider this a horror. If it is rated 12, then I would notconsider it a Horror. Very little blood and light action. The typical12 rated film. In this film the Church is the ruling leaders of the world...or what isleft of it. Beyond the walled up cities is a wasteland of sparselypopulated towns and farms. They came to power with a way to defeat theVampires. The weapon was the Priests. Warriors trained with powers todefeat Vampires. They turned the tied in the Human/Vampire war. Later,after the war ended and the Vampires placed in prisons, the Priestswere disbanded and forced to re-enter normal community. Vampires arenot the usual human, 2 eyed vampires...or even the more modern goodlooking vampires. No, these are beasts. Born to a Queen. No eyes andbig teeth.Paul Bettany plays Priest, one of the last surviving Priests. Out tosave his family from Vampires after an attack. I enjoyed his role andhe acted good. One of few films I had seen him in was Legion, which bythe way was a very good film. His acting in both films were verysimilar.Karl Urban plays Black Hat, the first hybrid vampire. A human vampire.Previously a Priest himself, he has the job to start the war againbetween vampires and humans. Nasty piece of work he is too. Although heis the main bad guy, he does not have a big role. Despite this, heplays it as good as expected. More recently best known for his 2009role as Bones in Star Trek.This film could have been so much more. More blood, more action. Thestory itself was good, it just needed attempts at scaring me. It neededto be a 15 or 18 rated film. What there was, I liked, but it is letdown by previously stated reasons. Priest did leave an opening at the end for a second film...or maybe aseries. The odds are low though as the film did not perform well in thebox office. Lets hope that if they do make a second, they will make an18 rated film with more action. Bring back proper vampires!! Not thoseannoying Twilight ones!!

(2012-04-25 20:06:36)

Well, it's better than LEGION

Fresh off their mind-numbing supernatural talkfest LEGION, Paul Bettany and director Scott Stewart have at it again, this time with a somewhat improved effort. PRIEST is a hybrid of vampire horror, dystopian Mad Maxian sci-fi, and the western. It sees Bettany demoted from a righteous archangel in LEGION to a warrior priest in this one, and bearing a tattooed cross on his mug and an aura of perpetual broodiness. This role is a far cry from his winning comedic roles in WIMBLEDON and A KNIGHT'S TALE. It's a good thing he's got presence.A no-holds-barred animated prologue establishes the back story. In this reality, vampires have existed in the open since Hector was a pup and they've been at war with mankind since forever. What finally turned the tide in humanity's favor is the emergence of the Church's elite warrior priests. With the war won and the vampires believed to have been completely eradicated, the warrior priests were summarily disbanded, abandoned and left to fend for themselves as best they can. Most of them found it difficult to reacclimate to society. It's hard going from the summit to the cellar."To go against the Church is to go against God." We hear that sweet bromide several times throughout the film, and we rapidly realize we're in one of them films in which the Church is totalitarian and wields absolute control. To illustrate this, the big metropolis is called Cathedral City, a place that's better to look at than to live in. For what it's worth, the steam- and cyber-punk designs make it visually interesting. Paul Bettany builds up his action hero creds, playing the titular role. When his niece is abducted by vampires (not as eradicated as everyone believed), Bettany's warrior priest defies the ruling monsignor's wish that he not intervene and he goes rogue. He's soon accompanied by a warrior priestess (Maggie Q) and a young hotshot outpost sheriff (Cam Gigandet), neither of whom brought along a good script. Witness the acting performances, more flat than the desolate desert wastelands thru which these would-be rescuers make their arduous trek. It's like everyone followed Bettany's choice of playing his part as stoic and resolute. I do like that Bettany does a bit of what John Wayne did in THE SEARCHERS. The priest is coldly adamant that a vampire shan't be suffered to live. There's some mystery as to what he'll do should his kidnapped niece turn out to be infected.I'm giving PRIEST 3.5 out of 5 stars, so I'm recommending it, even though there's a decided lack of sizzle. The story unfolds by the numbers. The actors aren't given enough to do. The f/x is decent without being eye-popping. The action sequences are worth watching without being innovative. Bettany sells the fighty fights convincingly enough, although I wish the film hadn't relied so much on editing trickeration and those "bullet time" effects. But that seems to be the trend nowadays with American action films. (Thank goodness for Hong Kong action films.) Still, that scene in which Maggie Q tosses those chunks of rock in the air so that Bettany can use them as stepping stones to reach a vampire target - well, that was pretty cool. If you like movies like BLADE and UNDERWORLD, there's something here for you. It's just something that isn't as good.

Logan Hill

(2012-04-25 03:47:09)

When you watch Bettany, you can't help wondering why the hell a talented actor is stuck in such an ungodly mess.

cramden15

(2012-04-24 17:23:23)

Movie made no sense

Questions abound. Why would mankind create "vampire reservations"?Also, how do vampires stealthily "breed an army" without access tofood? Finally, if vampires have a queen, surely the priests would beaware that they hadn't killed her.If mankind is stupid enough to institute "vampire reservations" I wouldthink checking in with the guards on a regular basis might bewarranted.The monsignor insists that vampires have been wiped out (except for thereservations), but if vampires have been breeding an army I wouldexpect entire settlements to suddenly go silent (not just Jericho), andhave been doing so for several months prior to the events of the movie.

(2012-04-23 10:51:43)

Not great, but entertaining

This review is from: Priest (Amazon Instant Video) The acting was good. The script was OK. It seemed a little disjointed to me. It was worth $4, but I could have waited for Netflix.

asamoahsamuel

(2012-04-22 16:39:05)

They don't make post apocalyptic vampire movies like they used to.

Priest 3D They don't make post apocalyptic vampire movies like theyused to. Priest 3D is straightforward really. Girl gets kidnapped byvampires and a rebellious priest (Paul Bettany) goes against hisCatholic order to rescue her. There is more to it than that, but it'snot much. As thin as the plot is, there's also a twist. Which didactually surprise me. Best thing about Priest 3D are the performances.Mainly Bettany who plays the conflicted priest very well. A man tornbetween his religious beliefs and his sense of duty. I thought he wasgreat as the lead, showing a meticulous style of leadership throughoutthe film. Great support from Maggie Q, her best performance to date.And the ever consistent Cam Gigandet, who continues to show what agreat character actor he is. Good to see Christopher Plummer in moviesagain, he's another reliable actor. And Alan Dale aka Jim Robinson,makes a small appearance as Bettany's mentor. Karl Urban (not aSPOILER) does a decent job as the main bad guy. Although at times hecame off like he was in panto, covering for Widow Twanky. Set piecesweren't as impressive as the trailer makes out they are. Fight sceneswere awful and are lazily choreographed. Mind you, the end finale setpiece was good. Both Urban and Bettany's characters fighting each otheron top of a moving train. Looked real enough, even though I'm sure itwas all CGI. What else? Vampires looked cheap and unimpressive, and thestory could've been much better. Only real surprise and highlight ofthe movie was the twist. Other than that, it's the performances thatcarry the film. And because of that only, I'll give Priest the ratingI've given it. Not a must see film by any means. It would seem Bettanyhas found God with the religious films he's been doing of late. If so,I hope God can help him make better choices.You'll see I haven't mentioned 3D once. Oh wait!

Jim Vejvoda

(2012-04-20 11:10:55)

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.

(2012-04-19 23:42:48)

Not a particularly good movie and the 3D was average.

This review is from: Priest (Unrated Version) [Blu-ray 3D] (Blu-ray) I bought this 3D movie for $20 because it was one of the cheapest 3D blurays I could find. The 3D is average quality. There is a scene where they use animation and the 3D looks pretty good during that particular scene but for the rest of the movie it is simply ok. As for the movie itself, it was below average. I wont write a detailed review on the plot or the dialogue since I was only interested in this movie for the 3D. It's a movie about vampires and vampire slayers that are apparently also priests. Nothing memorable. I would suggest you go to RottenTomatoes.com for the movie review. I can say that if you just want to see a 3D movie and this movie is the cheapest one you can find and it isn't more than $20 I would say go for it.

(2012-04-14 21:11:33)

Blu-ray: (3.5 stars) A good popcorn action-film, cool visual effects and looks and sounds great on Blu!

Back in 1998, a manhwa (Korean comic book) titled "Priest" was created by Hyung Min-woo and was released in the United States. The comic book was inspired by the PC video game "Blood" and in 2005, a loosely-based adaptation by Cory Goodman ("Apollo 18') was bought by Screen Gems in 2005.In 2009, the film was directed by Scott Stewart (known for his visual effects work), "Sin City"and would star Paul Bettany ("The Da Vinci Code", "Iron Man", "A Beautiful Mind"), both men previously worked on the film "Legion".With the film set for release for 2010, because the film was being converted to 3D, "Priest" would receive its theatrical debut in North America in May 2011 and now, "Priest: Unrated" is set for release in August 2011 on Blu-ray and DVD.VIDEO:"Priest is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1) and this dark and gritty vampire-killing film that looks fanastic on Blu-ray. Blacks are nice and deep, detail for the film is fantastic as we can see various objects, landscapes with clarity. Closeups of the detail on the skin of the character's faces is quite clear and there is also a layer of grain included as well.I didn't notice any problems with artifacts, edge enhancement and for the most part, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has constantly given Blu-ray fans awesome picture quality and it is no different for "Priest: Unrated".AUDIO & SUBTITLES:"Priest: Unrated" is presented in English, French, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD MA and English - Audio Description Track. I have to give high marks to "Priest" for its lossless audio. Audiophiles will love how effectively the sounds were mixed for various directions. There is good amount of LFE, dialogue is crystal clear and also good use for ambiance through the front and surround channels. Especially weather elements of wind and rain but also just that eerie vibe that you get from the look and feel of the film and just hearing the music and the various sounds, the sound editor did a great job on the soundtrack.Subtitles are in English, English SDH, Spanish, French and Portuguese.SPECIAL FEATURES:"Priest: Unrated" comes with the following special features: PS3 Theme - If you have a PS3, you can install a "Priest" Ps3 theme. movieIQ - View information online for the film while watching "Priest". Bullets and Crucifixes: Picture-in-Picture Experience - While watching the film, hear from the director and cast on the making of "Priest" and other details related to the film. Commentary with Director Scott Stewart, Writer Cory Goodman, Paul Bettany and Maggie Q - While details can be found on the picture-in-picture experience, hear the director, writer and actor Paul Bettany and actress Maggie Q giving viewers insight on the making of the film. Deleted and Extended Scenes - (12:31) Seven deleted and extended scenes. The Bloody Frontier: Creating the World of Priest - (12:49) The challenge of creating the alternate world of "Priest". Tools of the Trade: The Weapons and Vehicles of Priest - (11:25) Featuring the weapons and vehicles of "Priest" and bringing it to the world on film. Twisted MetalВ® Uncut Trailer - (2:31) Trailer for the upcoming Sony PlayStation 3 video game "Twisted Metal".EXTRAS:Comes with an insert with a code to download a "Priest" skin for "Twisted Metal" on October 4, 2011.JUDGMENT CALL:I'm probably much more accepting to "Priest" than the film critics were because I read a lot of graphic novels, especially from Asia and I'm also into alternate universe in a steampunkish way and the fact that introduces vampires that are not pretty boys and are just downright fugly and ferocious, I was digging it!I have to say that I was quite skeptical at first because the last time I watched a film with Scott Stewart and Paul Bettany together, it was "Legend" and it was all visual effects with a bad story.Not to say that "Priest" is great when it comes to storytelling but I enjoyed this film much more than "Legion" and the concept of the priests and vampires at war and the fact that the overall look of the film managed to look gritty and dark but the use of blues and warm colors to separate the church cities and what was taking place outside with the vampires and humans, for me it was quite intriguing.It's a short film at 87-minutes and I'm going to be truthful, outside of the main storyline between Priest and him breaking the rules of the church, I felt the whole movie was a bit of a blur and I was focusing more on the visual effects and action. Suffice to say, seeing Maggie Q with Paul Bettany was a pretty cool collaboration and because I watched "Legion" and was expecting something along the lines of visual eye-candy with no substance ala "Legion", I came in expecting somewhat the worst and so, I was pretty surprised that I enjoyed this film much better than what I was expecting.As for the film, I can't tell you what difference there is between the unrated and normal version of the film. I think that for me, the lack of including both films on the Blu-ray release was a bummer!For the Blu-ray release, I was impressed by the picture and audio quality and that there were a good number of special features and that they got the talent involved for the audio commentary. But what about the film? The film was good in a popcorn action kind of way. When it comes to vampire films, in this day and age, it's been overdone and you just want to see something different. So, I did like the fact that "Priest: Unrated" made the vampires really ugly and ferocious.I will say that for an "unrated" release, I was expecting more violence or even blood or more dismemberment. I thought this was going to showcase something disgusting along the lines of horror and it never happened in this film. If anything, we see families getting thrashed by the vampires but instead of showcasing any of those scenes, we hear it instead of see it.Overall, "Priest: Unrated" was an enjoyable film that was not necessarily great but comparing it to Stewart and Bettany's last work together on "Legion", "Priest: Unrated" was much more enjoyable and if it was visual eye-candy, I preferred "Priest" over "Legion".If you are the type who likes action films with a lot of fighting and a lot of visual effects and doesn't have a strong plot, you can't go wrong with "Priest: Unrated". Otherwise, if you are looking for a deeper film and plot is much more important than visual effects and action, then "Priest: Unrated" is definitely not for you.

ivan-caldarevic

(2012-04-14 05:11:24)

Holy cr*p!

Honestly I haven't expected this movie to be good, 5-6/10 maybe. But incombination with good acting, story and visual effects – could be agood choice to kill the Sunday afternoon.Was it?- NO!Why? Acting is poor. Story is so shallow and boring. They stole theidea from Equilibrium. Cam Gigandet is so annoying with his acting andchildish questions all of the time. The movie simply can't make youwatch it for 15 minutes without thinking: "WTF?" or laughing. PaulBettany wasn't enough to raise the quality of the movie.Unfortunately...Positive sides. Visually really nice! Paul Bettany, sometimes. Good 3D.At the end, I haven't rated it 2 only because Paul Bettany appeared inthe movie, and because of the overall visual appearance.

DarkVulcan29

(2012-04-11 00:29:31)

This movie is a reminder, that vampire films are so overrated.

A super powered being that fights vampires, we've seen that before, yesin Blade(1998), and Buffy The Vampire Slayer(1997-2003).In the dark future, where Priests are super powered slayers of evil.But when a Priests(Paul Betthaney) niece is kidnapped by vampires, andalso a former colleague(Karl Urban), he ventures outside the city, heteams up with her boyfriend(Cam Gigandet), but will they get to herbefore it's too late? An alright film, but vampires, come on, thats overdone, this couldn'teven try to be little original. Some effects where okay, and it alsohad some good fight scenes, some good have been a little better. PaulBetthaney was alright, I think he was trying to do David Carradine fromKung Fu. Cam Gigantet was okay, but there was not much interest withhis character. Karl Urdan was good as the villain, I think he wastrying to do Clint Eastwood. Maggie Q is awesome in her role. Thismovie was alright, but short on interesting.

(2012-04-10 06:42:06)

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

andrefcasimiro

(2012-04-10 07:19:49)

An average action movie.

I was waiting anxiously to watch Priest, because I really enjoy post-apocalyptic movies and vampires. But what I truly enjoyed the most inthe movie was the story background, the dystopic city ruled by theChurch, like the old days, in the Middle Age.I can't say I was expecting too much from it. It was an average actionmovie, not bad, just not surprising. I loved the special effects, thedesign of the city, of the wasteland. In the end, I can say I wassatisfied. Thumbs up for the final scene. I though it was very good andmade me want more. I recommend you if you like post-apocalyptic moviesand like vampires... just don't expect too much.6/10 - Average

(2012-04-09 20:10:10)

No No Nooooooo !!!!!!

This review is from: Priest (Unrated Version) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) THis movie is not worth your well earned money and time. Please please do not bother or join me in the ranks of people who think this money should have gone to charity instead.

(2012-04-07 18:13:03)

What a dumb movie

This review is from: Priest (Amazon Instant Video) Yeah it sounded cool but it isn't. The vampires are just silly and disappointing - blind and they look like CGI bald dogs. The story is weak - a bunch of vampires on a train heading to a city and only 3 people are going to stop them = a dumb action movie where more thought was given to just showing action than anything resembling a well thought out story. It just wasn't a movie I enjoyed very much.UPDATE: 7 people find this review unhelpful, well the movie sucked and I can't say much more. Although if it was unhelpful because I did not comment on the quality of video streaming then let me say this - the quality was fine. I frequently use Amazon VOD, have a large library of digital movies I own, and often use the Roku Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player to watch them on. But this particular movie sucked - the streaming service is fine.

James White

(2012-04-07 11:28:03)

anyone who has seen the trailer has seen a good 80% of anything worth watching here

George Wood

(2012-04-06 14:09:26)

Possibly the worst movie I have ever watched.

I went into the cinema yesterday having no idea what this film was. Myfriends told me it was a horror so I was beginning to look forward to abit of being scared. So it started with some stupid cartoon about thepast or whatever, which to be quite honest confused me rather a lot,but it wasn't a bad beginning or anything. I didn't even catch the bitabout vampires existing. So then the story started and within fiveminutes I was bored stiff. There's nothing interesting about this film.Pretty much the whole thing is just some rugged guy walking aroundbarren land and killing a few vampires here and there. The vampiresaren't even scary; I mean, it's an English 12a for goodness sake! Theyused the same gag twice as well, what with the vampire jumping outTWICE. The fact that this film was really intense would've been okayseeing as I watch lots of television that's not intended to be funny,but there's nothing clever about it. There are no twists. Well, there'sone feeble attempt at a twist but it doesn't change anything, and it'snot even explained. I don't even understand how it came about! Thepriests are stupid. The vampires are stupid. It's not explained wellenough and it's hard to follow. It's depressing. It's not attractive inany way. It's all round not enjoyable. To be quite honest I'd rather besat in school than watching this film.

Adam Markovitz

(2012-04-06 08:20:54)

Adapted from a graphic-novel series (and what isn't these days?), this unholy mess of horror and Western clichГ©s is, at least, blessed with a wonderfully loony premise.