Priest

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2:23

Priest

PG-13

2011

1h 27m

Fantasy

Horror

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

16%

Tomatometer

96 Reviews

46%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

In a society ravaged by centuries of war between humans and vampires, a legendary warrior priest (Paul Bettany), a veteran of the last conflict, lives in an enclosed city ruled by the church. When a murderous pack of vampires kidnaps his niece (Lily Collins), the priest breaks his sacred vows and sets out to rescue her before the bloodsuckers put the bite on her. Joining him on his quest are his niece's boyfriend (Cam Gigandet) and a former priestess (Maggie Q) with supernatural fighting skills.

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Critics Consensus

Sleek and stylish, but those qualities are wasted on a dull, derivative blend of sci-fi, action, and horror.

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Anna Smith

metro.co.uk

It's just a shame this world is populated with such one-dimensional, humourless characters.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 24, 2018

Full Review

Sandra Hall

Sydney Morning Herald

Bettany is a great actor who does melancholy very well, he also has a sense of mischief. It would be nice to see it shine a bit before it, too, fades to grey.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 25, 2011

Full Review

Philippa Hawker

The Age (Australia)

Its visual style veers between bleached desert tones and slimy undercover dankness, but the 3D version is undistinguished.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 25, 2011

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

It seems no matter how hard star Paul Bettany tries to establish himself as an action hero, he keeps choosing poor scripts.

Rated: 1.5/4

Jun 7, 2023

Full Review

Jason Best

Movie Talk

The film looks good and the action sequences have zip, but the characters are underdeveloped and the dialogue is dire.

Dec 5, 2020

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Paul Bettany is an intriguing choice as Priest, but his performance is so devoid of life that it might as well have been Brandon Routh.

Rated: 2.5/4.0

Sep 20, 2020

Full Review

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Kandy A

A bad story line, bad cinematics, never went anywhere.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

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Brian M

Well worth watching. A more interesting than usual 'Vampire World' with very impressive sets and landscapes. Paul Bettany is dark and brooding, quite the change from some of the movies I've seen him in. Big supporting cast inc Christopher Plummer. I Watched this on Sony One Action hits via Samsung plus TV in the UK, so it just shows you don't need to pay to see decent movies.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

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Sean D

For a genre film, I really liked it. High octane and some decent performances

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/07/25

Full Review

Samuel W

A comic adaptation no one really asked for nor wanted, the titular Priest is one of the only interesting parts of the film, and even then, he gets the short end of the stick a lot. Paul Bettany and Karl Urban are certainly the highlights of the film, but the story seems to be an underwhelming vessel to try and make the action scenes work. The only reason this film exists, I feel, is to show Paul Bettany kill a whole bunch of vampires and fight Karl Urban. Nothing else to really say, but this was just a ridiculous film.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/01/25

Full Review

Audience Member

As an action movie, it's entertaining, though not memorable. (I would have liked a sequel to see the war and the possibilities of the queen...) Part of the criticism stems from a mix of it not being faithful to the source material (the Korean comic Priest) and its use of Christianity/Bible/etc. in a story about fascism/idiocracy. And more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/12/24

Full Review

Jotair P

I'm aware that there is a comic, but I never read it. This movie is not the worst thing I've seen, but it's pretty bad. I would say a 4.5/10. The universe seems really interesting, that's about it, there was a lot of potential. However, the execution is pretty meh with some bad moments. Acting is ok, but dialogue has some really bad moments. Story is something predictable, but it's not well executed. Effects are pretty decent, specially for the time (2011). Don't waste your time. If you really want, sure, go for it, but I told you so.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

10/28/24

Full Review

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Scott Stewart

Director

Paul Bettany

Priest

Karl Urban

Black Hat

Cam Gigandet

Hicks

Maggie Q

Priestess

Lily Collins

Lucy Pace

Priest: Official Clip - Get Her Down Below

2:48

Priest: Official Clip - The Vampire War

2:36

Priest: Official Clip - Ex-Communicated

2:40

Priest: Official Clip - Terror Symphony

1:46

Priest: Official Clip - A Holy Light

3:07

Priest: Official Clip - Fear No Evil

2:54

Priest: Official Clip - Taking Down Black Hat

2:47

Priest: Official Clip - Human & Vampire

2:38

Priest: Official Clip - The Hive Guardian

2:58

Priest: Official Clip - No More Masters

2:35

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Priest: Trailer 1

2:23

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Synopsis

In a society ravaged by centuries of war between humans and vampires, a legendary warrior priest (Paul Bettany), a veteran of the last conflict, lives in an enclosed city ruled by the church. When a murderous pack of vampires kidnaps his niece (Lily Collins), the priest breaks his sacred vows and sets out to rescue her before the bloodsuckers put the bite on her. Joining him on his quest are his niece's boyfriend (Cam Gigandet) and a former priestess (Maggie Q) with supernatural fighting skills.

Director: Scott Stewart
Producer: Michael De Luca, Joshua Donen, Mitchell Peck
Screenwriter: Cory Goodman
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co: Michael De Luca, Stars Road Entertainment
Rating: PG-13 (Disturbing Images|Brief Strong Language|Intense Sequences of Action|Intense Sequences of Violence)
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 13, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 16, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $29.1M
Runtime: 1h 27m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital

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