Priest [3D] (2011)
Brief review: "Legion" director, Scott Stewart, brings us his latest sci-fi horror flick, based on on the Korean comic of the same name, and set in an alternate futuristic world full of blood-thirsty vampires. Despite its unsteady pacing, cliche-ridden script and complete lack of humor, "Priest" still manages to entertain the viewer, thanks its talented cast and Scott Stewart's eye-popping visual style. The post-apocalyptic, yet futuristic setting of the film is as gloomy and forbidding as it is imposingly spectacular, and the washed-out almost colorless cinematography compliments the dim art direction, and the overall grim mood of the movie. The CGIs are absolutely first-rate and downright flawless, and the 3D effects range from decent to excellent, despite that the film is not being shot-in-3D, but post-converted. The vampires themselves are not in human form, but an amazingly-designed eyeless creatures, that will surely give you the creeps. The action is also a feast for the eyes - the stunts are impressive, and the slow-mo sequences are stylishly-shot and executed with precision. Paul Bettany turns in a strong performance as the tough and protectful Priest, Maggie Q simply dazzles as the Priestess, and Karl Urban does a great job as the vicious Black Hat.
Overall summary: Featuring stunning futuristic visuals, outstanding production dsign, great action sequences, and some of the slickest creature effects ever put on film, "Priest" is a hugely entertaining guilty-pleasure-kind-of-movie, that delivers everything it promises.
Overall summary: Featuring stunning futuristic visuals, outstanding production dsign, great action sequences, and some of the slickest creature effects ever put on film, "Priest" is a hugely entertaining guilty-pleasure-kind-of-movie, that delivers everything it promises.
36 comments:
I love all three of these actors, especially Karl. He could stand there and read the government tax codes and I would be blissfully happy. Very cool and provocative review.
Hey, caught you over on Alex's site. Awesome spotlight, hon. You rocked it. The whole thing was humorous, informative and very engaging. I know you are going to get tons more new followers. I keep saying it, bigger and better, sweetheart.
Have an awesome and spectacular weekend. I'll shoot an email either tonight or tomorrow as I have some goodies to share. Hugs!
Mel, I do too.
"He could stand there and read the government tax codes and I would be blissfully happy." - LOL! You're hilarious! :) And I'm glad you liked my review, hon. ;)
Yep, a month ago he asked me to do a guest post over at his cool blog, and I couldn't refuse :)
Ah, thanks, sweetie - that's so nice of you!
Yeah, I might get tons of new followers, but first, Blogger has to give my followers gadget back :( It disappeared when I needed it the most. Damn.
Yay! Can't wait for the good news you want to share! Huge hugs to my Mel. ;)
I ended up skipping this one in the theater. It was a busy weekend and the reviews were poor, so decided to wait.
Alex, "Priest" was one of my most-anticipated early summer releses, and it didn't leave me disappointed. Story-wise, it was nothing special, but it delivered 100% in terms of action and visuals. You should give it a shot when it comes out on DVD.
I just saw Legion with Bettany so I'm intrigued to view this one.
BTW - can't see the gadget where I click to follow. Am I missing something?
I'll probably wait and redbox the dvd, but a better review than I expected.
I'm probably going to skip this movie. I must say, your review was one of the most positive I read. I'm sort of torn on its value, but maybe I'll give it a late night Netflix chance down the road.
Michael, I thought "Legion" was mediocre, but still pretty watchable. "Priest" is much better! You should give it a shot.
Since yesterday, the 'followers' gadget is missing. There's something wrong with blogger - a bug or something. You could try the bar above the header - there's a 'follow' button as well ;)
Chris, the review is positive, because the film itself was better than I expected. :) It's worth-seeing on the big screen - the visuals are fantastic.
Matty, I liked it quite a lot. Yes, it was cliched and everything, but it won me over with its spectacular visuals and cool action scenes.
We we're planning on see this but right now we aren't sure if it's worth the 12 bucks not including the popcorn.
I found you through Alex's site. Great job with the reviews. I'm a new follower. :)
Cool, sounds like it's definitely worth my time! I love this kind of dark show (minus the R rating, please!) and love Paul Bettany and Maggie Q. Thanks for the review!
Just popped over from Alex site. I LOVE your site! I've bookmarked it because I know my husband is going to enjoy it as well. I couldn't get him to see this in the theater with me. I think 6.5 out of 10 stars warrants a theater viewing, don't you? It doesn't have to be perfect to see on the big screen. I just wonder how this will translate to the television screen (hence why I wanted to see it in theater).
I enjoyed your intro on Alex's site, and wanted to read your amazing blog! It's interesting how you got involved in movie reviews, and I'd like to see the romance review that you mentioned. This is an excellent review, incorporating everything we need to know in a compact package. Julie
Thanks for the follow! You really do have an impressive site and your writing's great. I'm utterly clueless when it comes to movies. I'll be following along, in hopes of getting a clue.
Cheers,
Robyn
Glad you got to enjoy this one! I couldn't get passed the cliché of it all, which is disappointing because it has some really, really fucking good actors.
LoneIslander, it's worth it in my opinion. I have no regrets whatsoever watching at the theater.
Hey Ciara! :) Welcome to CineMarvellous! :) I'll be glad to have you as a follower :)
Ali, you're welcome ;) It's definitely my kind of movie, as well, and both Paul and Maggie did great.
Oh, and it's a PG-13 horror flick, so don't worry about it ;)
Hey Jennie! Welcome to my blog. So glad you love it :) Thanks for bookmarking my site, and I do hope you both will enjoy it. I'd love to have you as a follower :)
I enjoyed your intro on Alex's site, and wanted to read your amazing blog! It's interesting how you got involved in movie reviews, and I'd like to see the romance review that you mentioned. This is an excellent review, incorporating everything we need to know in a compact package.
Hi, Julie :) Ah, thank you so much, dear. Yes, it's very interesting, that's why Alex wanted me to share all this with you, guys. Glad you liked my review, Julie, and I hope to see you here more often :)
Unfortunately, this Romantic top list is not in English, and it's published in an actual magazine, and not a website. But if you're interested, I might figure something out :)
Robyn, you're welcome, and thank you so much for the kind words. You can rely on me and my blog on everything that concerns movies :)
M. Hufstader, I did actually. I knew it's going to be a mash-up of sci-fi/horror cliches, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. And yes, the cast did a great job. So you hated "Priest"? :(
I enjoyed your review and your post on Alex's blog~
Well Done~
I look forward to seeing this; Paul Bettany rocks most of his roles! Thank you, your review makes me look forward to this journey~
Ah, thank you, Ella! I'm so glad you did :)
Almost everyone says it's a crap, but I completely disagree. There's much to be enjoyed, and Paul rocks indeed.
Hi I stopped by from Alex's blog. I loved your interview so had to check you out. I like your site and am a new follower as well.
We both have something in common. I ran a Video store for 8 years and love it. I got to see all the movies before they came out, and got to talk to other movie buffs.
Pamela Jo
http://theresjustlifeyaliveit.blogspot.com
I had a feeling that Priest was going to be better than everyone was making it out to be....
Great review (as always)!
Andrew, so had I. :) And it was. I'm sick of grumpy critics, who dump down movies for no reason.
Thanks, buddy. Glad you liked it ;)
Pamela, thank you so much, and I'm truly glad you love my post. I can't see you on my 'followers' list. Are you sure you've followed my blog? :)
Anyway, we definitely have something in common, though I worked as a video store manager for about an year and a half. It was great though, and my clients have always relied on my picks and recommendations. :)
I'm a huge fan of Karl Urban so I'll watch this film just for him, even though I'm disappointed to hear from you that the script is bad. Scripts make the movie.
But a visual treat of special effects plus Karl Urban (another visual treat) will probably half make up for it.
Jai
This is one I'd definitely like to see
Jay, first of all, thanks for the follow :)
I agree that the script makes the movie, but "Priest" is one of those cases, where the script is not of a big importance. It's all about the visuals and the action, and I enjoyed it for that.
Karl is great - I like him a lot as well :)
Lynda, you should give it a shot. Experience it on the big screen - it's worth it. ;)
Hi George, I'm back!
Nice review! Loved 'Priest' a bit more than you but overall I agree with you.
You're right, they probably took the movie a bit too serious, still for whatever reason I enjoyed the hell outta Priest!
Hey, Maynard! Glad to see you back, buddy. :)
Thanks. I enjoyed it quite a lot, especially the creatures. They looked freaking fantastic! I didn't gave it a higher rating because of the numerous cliches ant the lack of humor. Other than that, I thought it was great.
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