I'm a bit late with this one, aren't I? Nevermind, it's another comic book based film and it deserves to be here. After all, at least three of us here are geeks.
This film is based on a well known manhwa, or a Korean comic book if you will. And, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure "based" is the right word. If you think it truly is, you will have to agree that it is based extremely loosely. In fact, to those who know, they will fairly quickly realize that the idea for the story did not come from the Priest manhwa, but a 1997 video game Blood. It only shamelessly took Priest's character ideas (once again, not actual characters) and combined them with the mentioned video game. So, with that said, it is fairly obvious that this is a disappointment to the fans from the early start.
As far as the setting goes, it's Blood all the way. And that's kind of a good thing, because those unspecified periods of time are always interesting. The period in question is a blend of the Wild West and a crumbling, futuristic and overly religious Utopian society. Throw some vampires in to the mix and you have an amazing fantasy world that really looks and feels like it came from a manhwa.
The story itself is, I have to admit, kind of dull. I could reveal it, because it bears no weight and does not interfere with the film, but I choose not to. See it and judge it for yourself. The wonder of acting is not really shown and, although I'm a huge Bettany fan, he has become very standardized. Damn shame. The others are pretty much not worth the mention, as you have that gay-yet-not-gay dude from Burlesque, the talentless Karl Urban and Maggie Q which, I believe, was deliberately cast because of her Asian origins.
So, all in all, if you're a fan of the original comic books, don't get sucked into this. Sure, it'll kill some time, give you a couple of well aimed slow motion scenes and grant you some nice animation... But, in the end, it's not even mediocre.
5 out of 10.
