Priest
Last year, director Scott Stewart and star Paul Bettany made a splash in the realm of supernatural action with “Legion.” If you happened to watch it, I think you might agree that it was a minor entertainment– compelling story to go with good effects and action, but still pretty silly. This year, the team has adapted a Japanese graphic novel series about a future world where vampires are supposedly defeated into submission by an army of priests, doing the work of the governing church in charge of the remaining survivors in this desolate landscape. In a superb animated sequence (no doubt inspired by the graphic novel series), we see the early battles as the ruling monsenior (Christopher Plummer) narrates; it is the highlight of the entire film. Stewart knows how to stage an action sequence and bring a post-apocalyptic world to life visually, and Bettany has a stoic presence that fits his role as a priest who is brought out of retirement when vampires capture a loved one. Unfortunately, “Priest” is unable to rise above what we’ve seen from every other post-apocalyptic thriller since “Mad Max” and the CG-infused mayhem of a “Resident Evil” film, which is a shame because the bare materials could have had so much more to offer.
