Scott Stewart’s adaptation of the eponymous graphic novel series opens with a couple of minutes of bloody, animated exposition, during which we learn that after years of warfare, super-powered priests have beaten back a race of eyeless vampires and the church has established Orwellian colonies for the human survivors. As silly as all that is, it only gets worse from there. The ashen-faced Paul Bettany stars as a squinty, scowling priest-warrior who goes back into battle mode when a new gang of vamps kidnaps one of his relatives. Bettany’s is one of many wooden performances—Cam Gigandet, who plays his sheriff sidekick, is outright terrible and Christopher Plummer is utterly wasted—but what’s really disappointing is how unspectacular the action is. Flipping through the pages of the comic would be a more kinetic experience than suffering through this sluggish screen version.
This article appears in May 12-18, 2011.
