Ok, THE ORDER isn't as bad as my one line summary might lead
one to believe, but it does come through as less succinct and
engaging as I'd hoped for.
Heath Ledger is fairly good as Alex Bernier, one of the last priests
of a sub-order of the Catholic Church known as the Carolingians.
He and his priest buddy Thomas (Mark Addy) are the two
remaining members and are drawn together once again to
investigate the suspicious death of their old, ex-communicated
mentor, Dominic, in the dark streets and basements of Rome. Oh,
they also fight ghost children, go against the dark forces of The
Black Pope, take on the super-natural Sin-Eater, and slip in a little
nookie on the side when time permits as well.
Now the acting is fine for the most part. The exceptions being;
Shannyn Sossamon, as Alex's love interest Mara, didn't really fit
the role and seemed to be walking through the part, and Benno
Furmann as William Eden, who really seemed to be all over the
place with regards to his accent and just way too suave (acting, not
character) for my liking. Everyone else was fine, with Peter Weller
turning in a fine performance (that I can't elaborate on without
spoiling the plot).
The cinematography and settings were really nice and probably
the most compelling aspect of the film overall; just watching dust
float around was beautiful. The CGI effects were very realistic and
well used. The story was somewhat lacking though, never really
drawing this viewer into full engagement, and the love-interest
angle seemed completely forced both with regards to plot
advancement and chemistry between the two leads.
I never found myself disgusted or guffawing during the film though,
and was able to watch it comfortably through to the end. All it
needed was a little tightening up between the script and direction
and maybe it would have had that extra "punch", that desperation,
that STIGMATA or THE EXORCIST can claim. THE ORDER is a
"renter" at best. 7/10.
one to believe, but it does come through as less succinct and
engaging as I'd hoped for.
Heath Ledger is fairly good as Alex Bernier, one of the last priests
of a sub-order of the Catholic Church known as the Carolingians.
He and his priest buddy Thomas (Mark Addy) are the two
remaining members and are drawn together once again to
investigate the suspicious death of their old, ex-communicated
mentor, Dominic, in the dark streets and basements of Rome. Oh,
they also fight ghost children, go against the dark forces of The
Black Pope, take on the super-natural Sin-Eater, and slip in a little
nookie on the side when time permits as well.
Now the acting is fine for the most part. The exceptions being;
Shannyn Sossamon, as Alex's love interest Mara, didn't really fit
the role and seemed to be walking through the part, and Benno
Furmann as William Eden, who really seemed to be all over the
place with regards to his accent and just way too suave (acting, not
character) for my liking. Everyone else was fine, with Peter Weller
turning in a fine performance (that I can't elaborate on without
spoiling the plot).
The cinematography and settings were really nice and probably
the most compelling aspect of the film overall; just watching dust
float around was beautiful. The CGI effects were very realistic and
well used. The story was somewhat lacking though, never really
drawing this viewer into full engagement, and the love-interest
angle seemed completely forced both with regards to plot
advancement and chemistry between the two leads.
I never found myself disgusted or guffawing during the film though,
and was able to watch it comfortably through to the end. All it
needed was a little tightening up between the script and direction
and maybe it would have had that extra "punch", that desperation,
that STIGMATA or THE EXORCIST can claim. THE ORDER is a
"renter" at best. 7/10.