Priest 3D Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

Priest 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Cinematic blasphemy. Now converted to quasi-3D!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman August 11, 2011

To go against the church is to go against God.

Apparently, Hollywood studios have figured out that it doesn't take much ingenuity or originality to entertain people anymore. What was once a medium for exciting new material or at the very least creative and fun mindless entertainment has become a cesspool of recycled ideas, poor plots, bad acting, and wholly unimaginative execution. Except for the truly atrocious few movies that earn the derision of even the average moviegoer, most modern pictures enjoy at least a semblance of success within the mainstream. So long as they're polished and their failings are covered up by slick directing, a palpable atmosphere, and computer trickery, most audiences will gladly fork over a few dollars for the privilege of being entertained by repetitive, unimaginative, and wholly worthless drivel that passes for everyday cinema in 2011. Priest is the latest ultra-stupid motion picture that features a slick veneer but absolutely no substance and, if it were possible, negative originality. It's an atmospheric and energetic but wholly generic motion picture that seems to borrow an idea, scene, line of dialogue, setting, character, or anything and everything else from some other, usually better, movie. It's the very definition of worthless cinema; it might look good on the surface, but this is one movie that's truly only skin-deep.

Pray for no more mediocre 3D conversions!

For all of history, man has battled vampire in a vicious war that devastated both sides and the world each calls "home." Unfortunately, the tide turned against man. Facing total defeat, mankind retreated behind the walls of the church where a select few known as "Priests" were trained in the art of warfare and built from the ground-up to wipe out vampires forever. With this new weapon in his arsenal, man rose from the ashes and vanquished the vampires -- or so he thought. Their services no longer needed, Priests were left to fend for themselves amongst average citizens, their skills no longer needed and their very purpose in life abruptly taken from them. Now, a new vampire threat is on the rise. When one of the church's most prized and skilled killers (Paul Bettany) learns that his family has been attacked by vampires and his niece Lucy (Lily Collins) has been taken prison by an evil force, he sets out against the church's wishes and, with the help of a Western sheriff by the name of Hicks (Cam Gigandet), vows to eliminate the new threat and retrieve his niece. Meanwhile, the church has summoned additional Priests to track down the rogue killer, prevent him from carrying out his mission, and return him dead or alive for final judgment.

Give Priest credit where credit is due. For as unoriginal as the film ultimately may be, it expertly combines a whole host of genre styles into one big and fairly coherent (if not still completely generic) motion picture. It's a Religious Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Horror Western, and it somehow balances all of those elements quite well, never overstating any single angle -- aside from the religious premise -- while seamlessly blending a black and blue depressing darkness with blinding and dry Western elements. But that's where the good stops and the bad starts. Priest is all about the superficial. It's as if Director Scott Charles Stewart -- who is the man behind the equally-ludicrous religiously-based flop Legion -- spent so much time guaranteeing that Priest would look and sound great that he completely forgot that there's more to a movie than its veneer. Not only is his plot completely derivative and lacking even a drop of originality -- it's a slick, odd, religious, end-of-the-world take on The Searchers -- his landscapes and atmosphere are lifted straight out of superior pictures, too. Whether the dark, seedy, electronically-dominated nighttime cityscape shots that are straight out of Blade Runner only replacing the commercialism with religiosity or the dusty Western venues-meet-high-tech action and excitement that look like something from Serenity, the picture just can't escape the feeling that every last little droplet of information has been taken from another source.

To make matters worse, the movie is so full of eye-rolling nonsense that even the bread-and-butter action scenes are ruined by grossly clichéd dialogue or ridiculous and overdone circus stunts and special effects. Priest is simply a rehash of the sort of action found in The Matrix and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. It recycles the basic build of the no-eyes, all-mouth special effects creatures that look as of they've been lifted straight out of the Silent Hill and Resident Evil previsualization archives. And it boasts the corniest, unimaginative, just-get-the-script-done dialogue that's both laughably predictable and cringe-worthy at the same time. Imagine sitting down to write something like Priest and envision the total lack of creativity that's necessary to come up with a line that goes something like "no, this is only the beginning" to end the movie or a reading of the Biblical passage that states "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for Thou art with me" as a precursor to brandishing bladed cross-shaped weapons that will fillet a bunch of those generic CGI creatures, and in slow motion to boot. Yes, it's that sort of movie, and yes, it borders on genre Parody. It's laughably bad, and even for as competently put together as it may be from a technical perspective and for the fair amount of potential that does exist within the basic idea, Priest just crumbles around its own insistence on doing everything so by-the-book that by the time the movie is over it's difficult to remember anything but just how incredibly bad it is.

Priest 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Priest is another one of those movies that was shot natively in 2D and looks quite good in its native format, but was selected for 3D conversion in post-production, delaying the film's arrival to theaters in the name of a gimmick that's more or less lost on such a naturally dark motion picture. Indeed, Priest's 1080p Blu-ray 3D transfer doesn't really add much to the film's dark visuals. While there are spots where it's easy to see that objects are a bit more shapely and a touch more naturally spaced one from another, there simply aren't all that many moments in the movie that are obviously more dynamic in 3D than they are in 2D. The picture's many darkened interiors suck away all opportunity for the 3D process to really show depth; it's so dark to begin with that there's simply nothing to see beyond the low-lit foreground, anyway. Certainly, a few of the "hive" shots that show lengthy tunnels benefit a smidgen from the added sense of space. However, even the aboveground dusty, harshly-lit, dead terrain sequences simply don't offer much in the way of perceptible 3D content aside from a slightly more natural sense of space as the image goes from one end of the screen to the other. Additionally, there are a handful of shots that appear a bit more flimsy and a hair softer than they do on the razor-sharp 2D-only image (which this disc contains on the same BD-50 disc; no need to purchase twice for the 2D version). Blacks also appear a touch darker than they do in the 2D version. On the plus side, viewers will be pleased to know that crosstalk is kept to a barely-noticeable minimum. Otherwise, the transfer replicates much of the strong facial and textural details of the 2D version. Colors, save for the sporadically darker blacks and considering the film's naturally limited palette, remain on equal footing. This is a classic example of superfluous 3D and a poor choice for conversion at that. Priest in no way looks bad in 3D, it's just not the sort of movie that really benefits from it, and the results make that abundantly clear.

Priest 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony blesses Priest with the same energetic DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's found on the 2D-only release. The natural and vigorous track is at all times perfectly balanced. Music is crisp and spacious, enjoying well-defined highs, a strong midrange, and a naturally heavy low while seamlessly blending into the back channels. Atmospherics are superb; whether dripping water that positively pulls the audience into a darkened cave location at the beginning of the movie or gusty winds that blow throughout the listening area and all but ruffle the audience's hair, the track proves its ability to create seamless ambience no matter the setting or challenge. Action scenes make up the track's true defining element. Directional effects are splendid, and the full use of the entire soundstage -- along with a well-balanced low end -- draws the audience into the film's rip-off action scenes. Dialogue remains grounded in the center channel and, aside from a scene where it must contend with extraordinarily heavy winds, is always clear and intelligible. The movie may be nothing to speak of, but Sony's lossless soundtrack is every bit as good as one would expect it to be.

Priest 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Priest's Blu-ray 3D release contains all of the extras found on the 2D-only release and adds two additional exclusive features.

3D Exclusive Supplements:

• Weapons and Vehicle Exploration in 3D (1080p): This interactive 3D feature offers "a closer look at Priest's bike and weapons through 360-degree room views." It allows viewers to "explore some of their key highlights" and "learn how the weapons transform from religious artifacts into deadly vampire-killing tools." Weapons and vehicles available for examination include Priest Bike, Priest Cross-Throwing Stars, Priest Crucifix Dagger, and Priestess Rosary-Rope Dart.
• Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Trailer (1080p, 2:24): Available in both 2D and 3D.

Cross-Release Standard Supplements:

• Bullets and Crucifixes: Picture-in-Picture Experience: In this picture-in-picture supplement, cast and crew discuss the picture's origins, its cinematic influences, its "industrial" "retro-future" look, the film's themes and deeper meanings, prop design, character development, special effects work, the qualities of the cast, and more. The piece also offers up original artwork and plenty of raw behind-the-scenes clips from the set.
• Audio Commentary: Director Scott Stewart, Writer Cory Goodman, and Actors Paul Bettany and Maggie Q cover much of the same information found in the picture-and-picture supplement, but there's certainly some new insights and a completely different style and flow that makes this worth a listen for those who enjoyed the film.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (480p, 12:31): Flashback #2 - Extended, Priestess Tells Hicks to Focus, The Whole Town, Black Hat Flashback - Extended, Train Fight - Extended, Priest Returns With a Head, and Lucy Asks Priest to Stay.
• The Bloody Frontier: Creating the World of Priest (1080p, 12:49): Cast and crew discuss the challenges of creating the film's undefined timeframe and landscape, giving it a unique shape and texture, redefining the vampire mythos, constructing the film's digital menaces, building the film's "retro future" world, using real-world locales for the film, building a unique Western-Industrial inspired town, and the challenges of making the film's action scenes.
• Tools of the Trade: The Weapons and Vehicles of Priest (1080p, 11:25): A close-up look at some of the action-critical goodies seen throughout the film.
• Twisted Metal Uncut Trailer (1080p, 2:31).
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• BD-Live.
• MovieIQ.

Priest 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Priest isn't worth the meager 87 minutes its asks of its audience. It's competently put together from a technical perspective, but forget any sort of originality in any area of the production. It's just a re-imagining of bits and pieces from other, mostly better, movies, and there's no artistic or thematic value of which to speak. This is big studio entertainment at its low point. Through sheer force of dollars thrown its way and a cast and crew that's at least competent, the movie just barely avoids the absolute bottom of the barrel. All that Priest is really good for is to serve as an example of a movie that's just blatantly unoriginal, but sadly such movies abound these days, effectively taking away its only real "positive." Sony's Blu-ray 3D release of Priest delivers a technically steady but dimensionally underwhelming 1080p Blu-ray 3D transfer, the same killer lossless soundtrack as found on the 2D-only release, and two new extras. Ultimately, there's no real reason to spend extra money on this 3D version. Skip it.