A (very loose, I've read) adaptation of a series of South Korean graphic novels, Priest is a contemporary action/horror blend in the high-octane, low-I.Q. spirit of the Resident Evil and Underworld franchises. Bullet-time fight sequences, high-tech weaponry, grotesque monsters, a mysterious caped crusader, etc., etc. This particular entry is directed by Scott Stewart and stars Paul Bettany, the pair responsible for the rather awful Legion last year. Priest, while imperfect in several respects, is a vast improvement.

The film centers on an long-raging war between humans and vampires. (For the record, these bloodthirsty creatures--enormous, growling, cave-dwelling, personality-free monsters--could not be further from the brooding, fashionable vampires of the divisive Twilight franchise.) The tide in this war was turned by warrior priests, one of whom is played by Bettany. After the vampire menace subsided, the priests were decommissioned. As the film opens, they are feared and ostracized by the society they once protected, and most of humanity lives within walled cities run by an Orwellian Catholic Church, lorded over by a very bitchy Christopher Plummer. Vampires have been imprisoned on "reservations" and are, it seems, no longer a threat.

This changes when a farm outpost owned by relatives of Bettany's Priest (one played by True Blood's Stephen Moyer) is attacked by vampires. A girl (Lily Collins, Phil's daughter) is abducted, and only Priest can save her, with the assistance of a small-town lawman (Cam Gigandet) and a sympathetic priestess (Maggie Q). This requires he turn against Plummer and the Church; they refuse to admit vampires are still an issue.

Obviously, The Searchers is a key reference point throughout, in addition to the standard-issue fare: Mad Max, The Matrix, Star Wars, Romero's zombie classics, etc.

Priest is a lean film, lasting less than 90 minutes. Its brevity is appealing and frustrating. On one hand, it's a film of clean lines and clear intent. Fast-paced and unpretentious. Scott Stewart crafts a handful of exciting action sequences. The various settings--the soot-strewn post-apocalyptic city, the stark desert--are striking. And to be honest, with the often hilarious exception of Cam Gigandet, most of the acting is fine. Bettany fights and growls his minimal lines with Christian Bale-esque intensity (if only this once-promising actor was given roles as compelling as Bale's so often are), and Karl Urban seems to be having a very good time devouring the scenery as the antagonist, Black Hat.

The film, however, is in desperate need of more breathing room. It always feels so hurried--from action sequence to action sequence, from jump scare to jump scare. There's a line between swiftness and exhausting, ADHD-pandering restlessness, and Priest, unfortunately, often finds itself on the wrong side of it. This could have been a much richer, more interesting film had certain characters and relationships been developed with more care, and it's a shame so few details of this well-conceived fantasy world (a futuristic, vampire-laden vision of the Old West) are explored for more than a few minutes. When the end comes, it's almost jarring--as if they decided two exciting acts were enough, no need for a third, time to close shop, maybe there will be a sequel.

All in all, Priest is a pleasant enough diversion, albeit one too fleeting and, yes, kind of hokey. A good enough choice for undiscerning genre fans. Oh, and as for the 3-D conversion, there are a few very cool shots interspersed throughout, but it would be easy to forget the illusion is there at all for most of the film--emphasis on would, if it weren't for the unfortunate dimming of the image.

C+

Priest kind of showed up and left right away. There is nothing really big happening in this film and for a horror/action film of its description, it should of been. The plot is a bit interesting, trained priests sent out to kill vampires but are now in exile. Then one day, one of the priests' family members is killed by vampires and he risks excommunication to save his kidnapped daughter. The film just doesn't build up much in the way of a huge threat. Sure, there are some fights here and there (which weren't horribly done), but it is nothing extravagant. Also, Karl Urban just played a really bad villain in this. Paul Bettany was fine and about the same as he was in Legion. When comparing these two films they rank the same, but Priest doesn't have the unintentional humor Legion did. *1/2

4/10 -> D

Been there, done that. I like the setting. But they did nothing with it. Literally. Devoid of its own unique style and voice, while at the same time mixing a lot of other similar movies in an attempt to sell itself.

It's just as bad as expected.

Are you a masochist? I'm not sure why else you would see this. You don't seem to enjoy WOKJ that much either, if you don't mind me pointing it out.

Why? Because I make sarcastic comments and make fun of certain posters? That's hardly the work of a masochist.

No, I suppose it's not. I'm glad that you're still enjoying the forums, but I'm still curious why you bothered seeing Priest. At least tell me it wasn't in 3D!

Didn't pay for it, dude. And Gulli and I enjoy watching crappy movies over Skype; makes the terribleness more fun!

It just reminded me so much of Legion. How did they convince Paul Bettany to star in the same movie twice?

I still find it funny that he was originally suppose to be the lead in The King's Speech

He could've done a great job in King's Speech. It's too bad his career has gone sideways a bit with all these fairly dopey action/horror movies.

I'm pretty sure that if I made a list of all movies in history according to how much I want to see them, this would rank last.

I hate it when the entire movie pretty much tries to set up a sequel that will never happen.