Priest (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• xGary X

  
  In a future society where the human race has enclosed itself in walled cities governed by a fascistic religious state after centuries of war with a race of vampires, an ex-warrior is called upon to help track down the kidnapped daughter of his brother. Switch the jet cycles for horses… More
  In a future society where the human race has enclosed itself in walled cities governed by a fascistic religious state after centuries of war with a race of vampires, an ex-warrior is called upon to help track down the kidnapped daughter of his brother. Switch the jet cycles for horses and vampires for Indians, Priest shows itself to be a sci-fi horror version of John Ford's classic The Searchers. It's actually an adaptation of a Korean graphic novel and it contains all the appropriate slo-mo wire work and flashing blades you'd expect in the post Matrix era and there are some very solid action sequences. The biggest problem with the film is that it's all so derivative; there's an extensive hotch-potch of ideas drawing on various sources but not one of them is remotely original. By far the best part of the film are the scenes set in the Judge Dredd style mega city which owe a great visual debt to Blade Runner and the idea of a futuristic society ruled by the church is a really interesting one. Unfortunately these scenes are fairly short lived, the plot switching to an action-western format that's a lot less interesting. The creatures are rather cartoony and unconvincing as you'd expect from computer generated monsters and Karl Urban's bad guy garners way too little screen time. Having said all that, it's still reasonably entertaining and cracks along at a pace that staves off boredom making for generic but flashy chop socky sci fi that's forgettable but fun.

• Dean !

  
  Ok so the pitch for this must have been Matrix meets Underworld. It's very stylized, has some nice production. The CGI was good especially for the Vamps, the weapon and vehicle design was nice ( There is a 10 min featurette on the DVD for these, the bikes looking a cross between… More
  Ok so the pitch for this must have been Matrix meets Underworld. It's very stylized, has some nice production. The CGI was good especially for the Vamps, the weapon and vehicle design was nice ( There is a 10 min featurette on the DVD for these, the bikes looking a cross between Tron/Akira styles and Darth Maul's speeder!) However it's sadly lacking in story, which is just bizarre and substance with a run time 75min! The ending just happens a bit too quick. Nice touches but overall not a patch on the similar films.

• Douglas W C

  
  Don't bother. Bad story and over acting.

• Steve K

  
  Take a bunch of derivative narrative elements, shake furiously, and pour them out onto the screen without any discernible talent or narrative momentum. Hopefully Paul Bettany is done with this kind of twaddle.

• Justin Y

  
  Based off of the Korean comic by the same name, Scott Stewart's <i>Priest</i> is a film that plays it safe and gets by.<p>The plot is all laid out with an animated introduction; from there on out, the rest of the picture becomes a cake walk to follow. The story… More
  Based off of the Korean comic by the same name, Scott Stewart's <i>Priest</i> is a film that plays it safe and gets by.<p>The plot is all laid out with an animated introduction; from there on out, the rest of the picture becomes a cake walk to follow. The story details are simple and provided when necessary, which is a bit of a letdown, because there is room for development and much more sophisticated writing. With that said, the 80 minute run time compliments the average script.</p><p>The action has its moments and it is violent enough for a PG-13 production. The vampires have a menacing look to them, while the CG effects are more than passable. These really are the highlights of the film, since the non-action pieces simply contain dialogue to push things forward.</p><p>Paul Bettany is monotone in nature here, but it is fitting to his character. Cam Gigandet, Karl Urban, and Maggie Q do well with they got, which isn't much. They need more to work with.</p><p>For lack of a better word, <i>Priest</i> is ordinary. It isn't terrible and it isn't great.</p>

• Matt G

  
  Black Hat: I can smell the blood running through your veins. Smells like... DINNER. This western-fused post-apocalyptic thriller set in the future follows the war between man and vampires. I can't say anything that hasn't been said; it doesn't suck, but it sure… More
  Black Hat: I can smell the blood running through your veins. Smells like... DINNER. This western-fused post-apocalyptic thriller set in the future follows the war between man and vampires. I can't say anything that hasn't been said; it doesn't suck, but it sure doesn't rock.

• Kase V

  
  'Priest' has its moments of gory action goodness, but the overall affect of the film is very underwhelming. It is largely unrewarding, despite its short run time. The editing and production value aren't too bad, but the acting is wooden and the thrills are lackluster.… More
  'Priest' has its moments of gory action goodness, but the overall affect of the film is very underwhelming. It is largely unrewarding, despite its short run time. The editing and production value aren't too bad, but the acting is wooden and the thrills are lackluster. Not worthy of anyone's time, it seems.

• Cynthia S

  
  Monsters. Vampires. Paul Bettany....3 of my favorite things. A storyline that seems to be a mixture of Judge Dredd and Van Helsing, with a sort of Mad Max setting. The plot was well thought-out, and it does a pretty good job of keeping you immersed in its intriguing world. Even so,… More
  Monsters. Vampires. Paul Bettany....3 of my favorite things. A storyline that seems to be a mixture of Judge Dredd and Van Helsing, with a sort of Mad Max setting. The plot was well thought-out, and it does a pretty good job of keeping you immersed in its intriguing world. Even so, the movie is very short, and I was left wishing that they had gone a bit more in-depth with it all. However, I really did enjoy this. AND it was apparent that they hope to make more. I, for one, hope that they do...

• Unknown H

  
  The trailer made this bad boy look a lot better than it actually was. Seemingly a mismatch of different themes and ideas from other (better) movies, it was like I had seen it before. This one had the potential to be really good but sadly, was in fact quite poor. One bonus, I enjoyed… More
  The trailer made this bad boy look a lot better than it actually was. Seemingly a mismatch of different themes and ideas from other (better) movies, it was like I had seen it before. This one had the potential to be really good but sadly, was in fact quite poor. One bonus, I enjoyed the vampires actually being portrayed as monsters rather than sultry heart throbs.

• Dead A

  
  I liked the action. But other than that this movie was disappointing.

• Gregory D

  
  This film features Stephen Moyer (Bill of True Blood fame.) I walked into this movie not knowing what it was about. I assumed it was a horror/scary movie; however it leans more towards an action film. I thought it was a solid film and not worthy of some of the negative feedback. It… More
  This film features Stephen Moyer (Bill of True Blood fame.) I walked into this movie not knowing what it was about. I assumed it was a horror/scary movie; however it leans more towards an action film. I thought it was a solid film and not worthy of some of the negative feedback. It was definately better than expected. It held my interest, but I tend to favor action flicks. So if you are not a big fan of action films you may want to pass on this one.

• Kevin C

  
  At least it's not terrible. But that doesn't mean this lazy, cliche ridden romp with ninja priests is good in any way.

• KJ P

  
  To keep me interested, a film does not have to do much, and the simplest of movies can even satisfy me, but this film is so simple that there is absolutely no character development through anyone. This film left me scratching my head of why some of the people were related and how any… More
  To keep me interested, a film does not have to do much, and the simplest of movies can even satisfy me, but this film is so simple that there is absolutely no character development through anyone. This film left me scratching my head of why some of the people were related and how any of the films plot points even made sense. In a world filled with vampires and war-fighting priests, one unlikely priest betrays his kind and teams up with a sheriff. Not only does this bring awful chemistry, but the fact that you don't even care if these characters live or die is just plain sad. The main story is that the remaining vampires are being held on reserve, but what nobody knows this that there is a half human/half vampire living among them who lets them free to begin a war once more. The vampires first attack a priests family, kidnapping a young girl, killing a mother and badly wounding her husband. The husbands brother is the priest, and now his on the hunt to kill all the vampires. However the movie is 80 minutes long and nothing ever happens until the end. It is poorly shot and laughably acted. Sure the film benefits from an extremely cool gritty style, but that and it's lead stars performance are the only things remotely positive about this stupid horror flick. It pulls out every cliche in the book, and (*SPOILER*) ends right where you are waiting for the big war. It is one hell of a cliffhanger that I actually want to see what happens next, but if a sequel is made, I will probably never watch it, because this filmmakers have done such a poor job with this. Priest is nothing but a great looking piece of garbage.

• A.D. V

  
  Karl Urban is splendid but the rest is a sloppy and pathetic by-the-numbers ordeal that presupposes there will be a sequel just because of it's semi cliifhanger ending. What a waste of time.

• Conner R

  
  Not even the nutball performance from Karl Urban could let me enjoy what I feel is one of the worst movies ever made. It souldn't be all that surprising since it's the team behind Legion, but this was somehow a good deal worse. Not only does it just completely rip off The… More
  Not even the nutball performance from Karl Urban could let me enjoy what I feel is one of the worst movies ever made. It souldn't be all that surprising since it's the team behind Legion, but this was somehow a good deal worse. Not only does it just completely rip off The Searchers like no tomorrow, but it has terrible action and characters that are just sad to watch. Paul Bettany easily gives his worst performance as Priest. Sadly, I feel it's because he just wants to get into a popular franchise and is willing to do anything. Cam Gigandet and the rest of the cast are just as bad, if not worse. Literally the only good part about this movie is Karl Urban and his duster of doom. I wish there was something I could say that's nice about the movie, but it's really impossible. It's put together incredibly sloppy, the style is all over the place and it just makes zero sense in the end. Priest tries so hard to be cool, but just fails miserably.

• Manu G

  
  The War is Eternal. His Mission is Just the Beginning. Good movie, the action was pretty decent. The story was mediocre to me, it didn't develop so much as I would have liked. If you dig dark, fun movies like 'Underworld,' you'll probably like Priest. The cast was… More
  The War is Eternal. His Mission is Just the Beginning. Good movie, the action was pretty decent. The story was mediocre to me, it didn't develop so much as I would have liked. If you dig dark, fun movies like 'Underworld,' you'll probably like Priest. The cast was pretty good and Maggie Q beautiful as always. PRIEST, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller, is set in an alternate world -- one ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampires. The story revolves around a legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War who now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on a quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece's boyfriend, a trigger-fingered young wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess who possesses otherworldly fighting skills.

• Al S

  
  A spectacular and exhilarating action-packed thrill-machine. It roars across the screen with fearless velocity. A spellbinding original, it has a great story, cool visual style, in depth leading characters and a vibe that's all it's own. A wickedly awesome and tremendously… More
  A spectacular and exhilarating action-packed thrill-machine. It roars across the screen with fearless velocity. A spellbinding original, it has a great story, cool visual style, in depth leading characters and a vibe that's all it's own. A wickedly awesome and tremendously entertaining movie. One of the most unique, compelling and original sci-fi action films in recent years. It's The Blade Runner meets Mad Max with vampires and it rocks. An unforgettable and adrenaline-fueled ride that's too much fun to resist. It delivers plenty of unstoppable action, amazing special effects and some great performances. A heart-pounding, bone-chilling, mind-dazzling and ultra-thrilling new classic. Paul Bettany gives a strong and magnetic performance. Maggie Q is terrific. Karl Urban is just electric. Director, Scott Stewart strikes gold with a well-crafted and brilliant new film.

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"The War is Eternal. His Mission is Just the Beginning."</i> A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"The War is Eternal. His Mission is Just the Beginning."</i> A priest disobeys church law to track down the vampires who kidnapped his niece. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> Somewhere in the future the Earth has been scorched by long wars. Wars that took place between the humans and vampires. Most humans now live in big cities - under the protection of the Church. The vampire threat seems to have died down and the Priests, more or less the hit-men of the Church, have fallen out of grace, shunned by everyone but themselves. But then a house in the wastelands is attacked in the night and one of the Priests goes out to investigate. So far the story. What follows is a more or less typical combination of post-apocalypse survival, vampire hunting and fighting off a totalitarian state. It's clear that the film steals from other films left and right but it steals well enough and adds some influences of its own so that it becomes a film on its own. It must be said though that it is not entirely enjoyable: it has far too many dull moments and many of the turns it takes are far too high on the cliché ladder. I think it would have done a lot better if it had tried to steal some less and add some more of itself - there's plenty of potential, it just hasn't been fully delved into. All in all, OK for a bored evening, ignorable on any other moment.

• Phil H

  
  Let me start by saying, forget yr 'X-Men: First Class' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' THIS is THE film for action so far this year period. I'm not gonna lie to you but this film borrows from every top film you can think of, there are many elements taken from… More
  Let me start by saying, forget yr 'X-Men: First Class' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' THIS is THE film for action so far this year period. I'm not gonna lie to you but this film borrows from every top film you can think of, there are many elements taken from the likes of 'Star Wars', 'The Matrix', 'Blade Runner', 'Blade', 'Aliens', 'Wild Wild West', 'Judge Dredd' and some visual styles from classic Westerns. All of which can be seen throughout for sure but this does not take away from this stunning post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller. The start of the film is excellent with a gorgeous animated intro sequence explaining this films fantasy universe and what has gone before, the sequence is great stuff and is easily an animated series franchise in the waiting ready to go up against 'Clone Wars', I would watch it :) From there we get introduced to a very 'Blade Runner' heavily influenced city which is constructed in the form of 'Mega City 1' from the 'Dredd' universe (a city behind massive walls where outside there is nothing but wasteland), yes its not too original but by golly it looks damn good. Everything you see is stylishly designed from clothes, buildings, signs to room interiors, to the smallest detail and it all looks practical too, this includes the amazing looking speeder bikes..er Batbikes...sorry motorbikes that are used, merely a turbine engine with a seat haha, they look powerful and slick. I was hugely impressed with the first 20mins of the first and really wanted to see more, unfortunately from there we move into the wastelands where it goes to a more sci-fi Western theme which is still nicely done but it gets a tiny bit hokey, the landscapes you see are fantastic. We see Urban doing his best Clint thing along with his Clint hat, the fact that he is the main villain was obvious and also kind silly really, why is it all people that are best friends with the hero, that get killed by the enemy, then come back from the dead blaming their best friend for their death!? Anyhows as the film moves on we do get some silly 'Matrix' style slow-mo fighting with a rather dubious way of killing the 'Hive Guardian' but none the less it doesn't detract. The vamps in the film look awesome and scary, their heads look slightly like Giger designs but they work well with steady cgi and with the mix of vamp slaves (humans that are half vamp, think 'Blade), the larger guardians and the mysterious Queen there is a good species evolution here for further exploration. Casting is good here too with recognisable names but not big names which always works better in my view, Bettany is excellent here with his calm Jedi-like performance, you could see him as a Jedi easily haha same can be said for Maggie Q with her decent Jedi-like performance, both are not over the top but more understated and reserved as they battle along. Urban is more comicbook but he looks cool admittedly, its a shame the finale gets too comicbook-ish over the stylised future we were given at first. This isn't gonna win any Oscars and from what I've read it hasn't wowed allot of people, why I don't know because I found it tremendous fun with gorgeous graphic design work used throughout making it a highly stylised distopian future set noir thriller...at least for the first 20min. Yes it gets abit silly as it progresses through and I wish they could of remained in the city (hopefully the sequel eh) but its still a vampire flick bottom line. I feel for Bettany as I enjoyed 'Legion' with its John Carpenter-like style and presentation which was underrated, this too is HIGHLY underrated and has immense promise with its vampire mythology and universe. I can't understand why people would enjoy semi decent fluff like 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Stranger Tides' and knock a visually impressive and promising fable like 'Priest'! If you liked any of the films I have mentioned before then I see no reason why you won't like 'Priest', think 'Blade' set in the future or Jedi fighting vampires in a Blade Runner/Western world ;) highly recommended.

• Brad W

  
  Can somebody explain to me how Priests can be ass kicking ninjas of the future you fight off demon vampires. I wanted to give this a chance despite of the reviews, but when I heard at the start about the war against vampires, all was lost. The plot is preposterous, and tries to… More
  Can somebody explain to me how Priests can be ass kicking ninjas of the future you fight off demon vampires. I wanted to give this a chance despite of the reviews, but when I heard at the start about the war against vampires, all was lost. The plot is preposterous, and tries to become a series of films when really it is nothing but purestupidity. I don't think in the future people will be wearing clothes like they just got off the set up True Grit. I cannot even explain the stupidity I think the writers were doing when making this movie, because when you see what the vampires look like, you will just want to scream at how stupid this movie is. All the actors in this movie are terrible, all thney did was look straight all the time and use a deep voice. If anything worked in Priest it was the music, because it sounded pretty good to me. The effects are nothing special, it seemed like they pulled in whatever they could scrap together and put it in the movie. I was hating the movie so much i forgot to mention the action, and when there is action its a little too Hollywood, and what i mean is that all the studio cared about was making it graphic and violent and didn't worry enough about the movie itself. Overall I disliked Priest very much.

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