Loosely adapted from the manhwa (that's Korean manga for those who don't know) of the same name, Priest takes place in an alternate world where humans and vampires have been at war for centuries. The war ravaged humanity and left it on the brink of extinction. Resorting to enclosed cities under the all-ruling Church, humans lived in fear, until hope was found in the form of 'Priests'. These weren't your usual holy priests; they were armed to the teeth and trained in the art of vampire hunting. And they had crosses tattoed onto their faces, signifying their badass-ness.
Needless to say, they helped turn the tide. But everything changed once humanity won, as these 'heroes' are forced to blend back into society. And all this was told in an extremely cool animated prologue.
In fact the prologue was so cool, you really wished the entire movie was in that style. But hey, Priest was still really cool nevertheless. The story centers around a former warrior Priest (Paul Bettany) who stays unnamed throughout the movie, and is referred to simply as... Priest. So okay, the poor dude's niece Lucy gets kidnapped by vampires and fearing that she'll be turned into one of them, he consults the Church for permission to hunt, of which he is denied in order to maintain their solid 'safe haven' status. What is a man to do?
While it does seem like a revenge-based slaughter-fest movie at first, there is more to the story than it seems. And oh, the vampires aren't the ones you'd typically associate with. They don't dress in suits and they don't even have eyes. In other words, pretty original, terrifying yet refreshing take on the blood suckers. They do however, remind you a little of those creepy human-munching monsters from The Descent. And humans who get bitten don't become vampires. Say what? Yup, you read that right. Instead they become these creepy pale beings called 'Familiars', that are pretty ugly too.
The actors did pretty good in their roles, Bettany was his usual badass hero self (similar to Legion, which featured the same director) while Maggie Q was equally awesome as a butt-kicking Priestess (what's with these Priests and their lack of names?).
Cam Gigandet was alright as Lucy's boyfriend Hicks (kinda funny though that he's moving from one vampire flick to the next) while Karl Urban was brilliant as hybrid main villain vampire Black Hat. True Blood's Stephen Moyer on the other hand makes a short appearance as well. Personally I felt a little more depth into the minor characters would have done more good.
The film's setting is one of its biggest assets, with a futuristic, post-apocalyptic-western fusion that works really well with the story. The Priests remind you a lot of the Jedi in Star Wars, with their whole 'unwanted former heroes' saga. And again like the Jedi, they even wear really cool hoods and wield special powers. However, they ride even cooler nitrous-equipped jet-powered bikes that are so ridiculously awesome that you'll actually want one.
The fighting scenes are one of the highlights, with some Shaolin influence kicked in (wait for a scene that involves a couple of rocks). These fights were mostly rather well-choreographed and appeared really stylish. One of my biggest concerns for the movie was having director Scott Charles Stewart at the helm, of which his previous movie Legion I found rather lacking. Sure he might have vision, and a knack at making really cool scenes, but he seems to run out of steam once he gets the ball rolling. The trailer of Legion made us expect much more than what the movie gave, and it seems somewhat similar when it comes to Priest. However, Priest is a way better movie, and far more entertaining. There were plenty of scenes that'd make you go "whoa that's so cool". And on the use of 3D, well, Priest was post-converted from 2D (which explained the delay in release). The added depth was nice and added to the experience, but was nothing to shout about. You wouldn't miss much if you caught the normal version. I just wished there were more vampire vs Priest fights to showcase how awesome these warriors were, and perhaps a little more humor to ease up the seriousness. But hey, I ain't complaining, Bettany was cool, and Maggie Q was hawt.
I found myself enjoying it, but it could have undeniably been more. But if the ending was anything to go by, it seems that we'll be seeing an expanded story if this flick does well in the box-office. Which I pretty sure hope it does.
3 1/2 Stars
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