5.7 | / 10 |
Users | 2.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A legendary Warrior Priest from the last Vampire War now lives in obscurity among the other downtrodden human inhabitants in walled-in dystopian cities ruled by the Church. When his niece is abducted by a murderous pack of vampires, Priest breaks his sacred vows to venture out on an obsessive quest to find her before they turn her into one of them. He is joined on his crusade by his niece's boyfriend,...
Starring: Paul Bettany, Cam Gigandet, Maggie Q, Karl Urban, Lily CollinsAction | 100% |
Sci-Fi | 56% |
Thriller | 47% |
Comic book | 30% |
Horror | 21% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Bonus View (PiP)
BD-Live
movieIQ
Region free
Movie | 1.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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.
Forgive it Father, for this movie has sinned.
Priest sparkles on Blu-ray. Whether during its many blackened and dreary nighttime city segments or while featuring the bright and arid Western desert locales, Sony's 1080p transfer proves its mastery of each extreme. Though slight crush proves problematic in the blackest of scenes, most dark shots enjoy a natural balance and inky blacks that impress far more than the movie to which they give shape. Fine detail is exemplary, though of course it's best enjoyed in the brighter scenes where the lifelike textures of a dirt landscape, wooden planks, and human faces are about as realistic as 1080p is capable of delivering. Colors are limited primarily to the blacks and blues of the nighttime settings and the pale and dusty tans and browns of the dry outdoor locales, but Sony's transfer commendably handles the film's limited palette with ease. The image enjoys an exceptional film-like texture, made possible thanks to the retention of a slight layer of image-defining grain. A few minor bouts of banding are noticeable, but not nearly enough to do any appreciable harm to this fantastic release from Sony.
Sony blesses Priest with an energetic DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack that's as natural as it is vigorous. The 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 arrives on Blu-ray with a fair supplemental package that consists of a thorough picture-in-picture feature, a somewhat superfluous
commentary, and two behind-the-scenes featurettes.
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 release of Priest does yield the expectedly high quality technical presentation, and there's a fair assortment of extras to boot. Unfortunately, gone are the days when a Blu-ray release may be recommended based on the strength of its technical presentation only; there are just too many good discs and too many vastly superior movies out there to warrant giving this one any sort of recommendation. Skip it.
2014
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