The Pope's Exorcist

The Pope’s Exorcist starts out entertainingly with the character of an unconventional, rebellious priest interestingly portrayed by the great Russell Crow. And then it is all the more unentertaining due to its impetuous piling up of genre clichés in the final third, which is more ridiculous than scary or in any way impressive. The film’s best scene, with which the still watchable and still developing part of the storyline culminates, is somewhere around the midpoint. A mainstream movie powered by a stellar cast, but in the context of the genre, it’s a total fiasco in comparison with some cinematic delights that don’t even make it into local theaters (X, Pearl). (2023-04-15)

Just another exorcism movie. Or another generic genre addition that unfortunately spits out all its plot and reveals all the demon scenes in the trailer and has nothing to dazzle with. Russell Crowe is a nice change from the jaded Mr. and Mrs. Warren, and his role as a satirical rebel priest is solid, but otherwise it's just a classic template that doesn't stand out in any aspect. Visually fine, atmospherically average and kind of middle of the road in terms of craftsmanship. I expected more. (2023-04-23)

I have a soft spot for supernatural themes, so I'm giving this one an extra star. Without Russell Crowe, it might feel like a B-movie, but he elevates it. Julius Avery did a fantastic job technically, and I'm glad someone other than James Wan tackled an exorcism horror. It shows that this genre can be approached differently. While James Wan's exorcism films have become a bit stale and recycled, this one worked pretty well for me. It's not the scariest, but with Russell in the lead and based on a true story, it adds a solid legend to the mix. Overall, I'm satisfied. (2023-10-23)

Russell Crowe, in his current chubby state, is already taking every stupid thing he can get his hands on. And yet, I liked the first half enough, as long as Russell is brimming with charisma and wit, and there's no shortage of some fine visual ideas. But as the minutes tick by, it gets sillier and more generic, and the final duel between the two priests, with bodies flying through the air, flames whipping and bloody women climbing out of iron maidens, looks like some kind of Mel Brooks parody. There's an art to fucking it up like that. Thanks for Franco Nero, I haven't seen him in anything in a long time. (2023-10-24)

Russell Crowe was apparently bored in conventional roles, his Jekyll & Hyde in the failed Dark Universe didn't work out, so his overdone genre cravings had to end here. And in all fairness, he is also the only reason why this schematic routine with no suspense, no creative ideas and no horror atmosphere is worth watching. You can see that he enjoys his unusual role immensely, diversifying it with small details, and even his crazy Italian accent will amuse more than annoy you from the very first moment (partly because it is far from the worst accent in the film). The rest of the vacuum around Crowe, however, is sheer exorcism routine from a routine director, who can only be credited with at least not cramming in annoying jump scares with loud sound effects, which is otherwise the plague of contemporary horror films. (2023-04-05)