Scott Charles Stewart made a name for himself in Hollywood by being the visual effects coordinator on such films as Sin City, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Stewart is now slowing making his way to the director’s chair, and seems to have selected Paul Bettany as his go-to-actor. Bettany starred in Legion, one of Stewart's first directing jobs, and the now the two are back together for the newest comic book film release, Priest.
For centuries humans and vampires has been at war. When the church seized power they appointed their own personal army to fight the vampire menace. These extraordinary fighter were called priests. Think Jedi Knights if Batman made them hi-tech weapons for killing vampires. With the help of the priests the vampires are all gone, so now the church has no need for its warriors and the priests were assimilated into the population of this dystopian future.
Years later, Priest, played by Bettany, finds out that his so-called niece has been captured by vampires, even though the church denies vampires still exist. Priest must then go against the church’s orders to find his what happend to his family. He is aided by an outland sheriff named Hicks and a former priestess, and friend, who was sent to bring Priest in. Little does our hero know that another friend of his he thought dead is leading the army of vampires that could wipe out mankind once and for all.
This film is based on a Korean comic book that I never read, but from what I know about it, it is nothing like the film. The comic book has to do with God, angels, and a bunch of other spiritual things so I’m not sure where apocalyptic vampires fits into everything. You can tell the film’s director has a back ground in special effects because these vampires are quite scary, even for being digital. Just too forewarn you there are quite a few ‘jump out of the dark and care you’ moments.
I’ve always perceived Paul Bettany as a good actor and for his character I think he does fine job. Priest seems like a man burdened by his past, and Bettany plays that stoic character well. Twilight alumni Cam Gigandet plays Hick in this film, and seems to be a moral center for Priest to play off of. Hicks has a bigger stake in finding Priest’s niece than you think, but I won’t spoil it for you. Star Trek and Lord of the Rings alumni Karl Urban plays the villain of the story and if the film had slowed down a bit to get to know the characters he could have been a good one. Rounding out the main cast is Maggie Q as Priestess. She is from Priest past, knows all his secrets, and Q does a fine job of playing the supportive friend who can kick-ass and may have a slight crush on Priest. Too bad she took a vow of celibacy.
The film is only 87 minutes long, and as you watch it seems like it’s going as fast as Priest speeder bike in Nitro. I felt that if the film had been drawn out a little bit more in the beginning we could have gotten to know the characters more. Then ,when the main plot started, we would care more about what happens throughout the film. It’s a descent story with a good cast, which means I can see a sequel being better than this film. Unfortunately I don’t think Priest will be strong enough in box office numbers and reviews to warrant a continuation, even if I’m curious where Priest and his team would go from here.
This film seemed like a mixture of Judge Dredd and Blade. It has a big city in the middle of the wasteland that is Earth, and the vampires even have familiars. If you’re a sci-fi or horror film guru I think you’ll enjoy this film, but other than that you may want to wait for DVD. As for me, I’m sucker for vampire films that don’t include them sparkling.
Rating: C-
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