Images courtesy of Screen Gems
I had been looking forward to viewing Priest since I first heard about it in February. The plot was compelling: based on a Korean graphic novel, Priest told the tale of warrior clerics in an alternate universe in which vampires roamed the Earth, and most of the land has been scorched in war. The story was somewhat reminiscent of the much-maligned Judge Dredd, but the supernatural element in Priest seemed perfectly suited for where the market is today (thanks to the cultural phenomenon that is Twilight), and assuming that the action was on par with the plot, there was no reason why this film should not have been a blockbuster in theaters. When I learned that the release of the film had actually been pushed back to 2011 from 2010, my suspicions should have been raised, but I kept my hopes alive. The previews that I had seen presented the film in the most favorable light possible. The color scheme was Underworld-esque, the action moves along the lines of The Matrix, and there was an ensemble cast to boot. So where does Priest go wrong? Terribly, terribly wrong? Priest is a film so rife with wasted possibilities that it is practically the embodiment of an 80s child star. The strongest aspect of the film is the cast, but not much can be done with a lackluster script. Priest stars Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Karl Urban, Christopher Plummer, Maggie Q, and Madchen Amick (who I last remember from Sleepwalkers back in 1992).
Paul Bettany stars in the title role
Priest takes place in an alternate universe labored under centuries of war between humans and vampires bent on the destruction of mankind. The war has recently been concluded, leaving the class of warriors whose only function is to fight the vampires - the priests - out of work, depressed, and listless. Frankly, they all seem to have gradations of PTSD. Paul Bettany's character, known only as Priest, learns that the vampires (who had previously been confined to "reservations") have returned to the surface and abducted his niece. Priest teams up with Hicks (played by Cam Gigandet), disobeys a direct order from his commander, and goes after his niece's abductors. It turns out that a former priest (played by Karl Urban) that had been lost during a battle with the vampires has returned as a vampire himself. In the timeline of Priest, the vampires are eyeless monsters, not the pale, seductive characters that most of us are used to. Karl Urban's character becomes the first "human vampire" after being converted by the queen of a vampire hive and he kidnaps the girl to lure Priest into joining him. The film concludes with the inevitable showdown between Bettany and Urban's characters.
Hong Kong star Maggie Q plays a supporting role
Priest strikes the viewer as an unsuccessful adaptation of the comic book it's based on. Priest poses a particular problem because the source material (a Korean graphic novel) is unlikely to be recognizable to an American audience (as contrasted with Spider-Man or Batman). This means that the screenwriter/director is responsible for making the film accessible to the viewer. The primary problem in this endeavor is that calling the villains "vampires" and presenting them as hideous and monstrous creatures completely unlike what someone would think of when they picture a "vampire" causes the film to lose its allure as a "vampire film". Indeed, Priest is not a vampire film at all. In reality, it is an uninspired retelling of Underworld without Kate Beckinsale. Priest wastes several opportunities: (1) the dynamic of a totalitarian state ruled by Catholic clerics is unexplored, (2) the mystique of vampires pitted against priests is ignored, and (3) the effects of warrior priests suddenly put out of work is glossed over. These are interesting points because they almost set up Priest for a remake in the next 10-15 years, much like Judge Dredd has been tossed around for retelling since the first rendition was sub-par. In spite of the strong trailers, Priest is boring, predictable, and uninspired. The script seems hastily written; for example, only one or two characters in the entire film are given names. Priest is not quite as egregious as Judge Dredd (which I have defended in the past), but it comes close.
Cam Gigandet stars as the sheriff who ropes Priest into rescuing his girlfriend
The familiars look more like vampires than the actual "vampires"
